A Credible Probe- Pegasus Snooping Scandal

Table of Contents

Pegasus Snooping Scandal- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability.

Recently, the Supreme Court ordered the institution of an independent probe into the possible misuse of Israeli spyware Pegasus.
- It is an effective intervention to protect citizens from unlawful surveillance.
It is also a stern rebuff to the Government’s attempt to cover up the issue by using the bogey of ‘national security’.

About Pegasus: It is military-grade spyware designed not only to grab data but also to take control of devices.
Issue: Earlier, nearly 300 of some 50,000 phone numbers allegedly identified for surveillance by Pegasus, belonged to Indians.
- many phones of journalists, activists and even doctors and court staff were targets of military-grade spyware Pegasus.
Government’s stance: The government instead of holding or facilitating a credible inquiry, chooses to outrightly ignore the issue.
- The government is sticking to a blanket denial of any wrongdoing, without acknowledging whether or not the spyware was available to government agencies.
- The government said that illegal surveillance is not possible in India.
- The government also said that the disclosure of whether or not a particular software suite was used by its agencies would compromise national security.

The Supreme Court enunciated two clear principles in the spyware Pegasus case:

1. Surveillance, or even the knowledge that one could be spied upon, affects the way individuals exercise their rights, warranting the Court’s intervention; and
2. There is no omnibus prohibition on judicial review merely because the spectre of national security is being raised.

On ‘National Security’: National security consideration can’t be used by the state “to get a free pass” for possible violation of citizens’ rights.
On freedom of press: The SC upheld that intrusive surveillance not only violates the right to privacy but also has a chilling effect on the freedom of the press.
The Supreme Court rejected the government’s inquiry on its own actions as it would command little credibility.

Government and its surveillance agencies must provide required information to the Supreme Court-supervised panel.
Government should take a cooperative stance and help the panel in conducting a credible and successful inquiry in the spyware Pegasus issue.