SC ORDERED AN EXPERT PROBE IN THE PEGASUS SURVEILLANCE SCANDAL

The Supreme Court ordered a three-member expert committee probe into the Pegasus surveillance scandal. The expert committee will be headed by:

1. Former Supreme Court judge, Justice RV Raveendran,

2. Alok Joshi (former IPS Officer),

3. Dr. Sundeep Oberoi,

4. Dr. Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, 

5. Dr. Prabaharan P, 

6. Dr. Ashwin Anil Gumaste. 

The Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, while passing the judgment, made it clear that it would not rely on the Central government to form such a committee. 

The Bench, in its judgment, criticized the Central government for raising the argument of national security to defend its case. The Bench said that the Centre cannot make an omnibus argument to gain a free pass every time the Court exercises judicial review. 

The Court said that there had been no specific denial of the allegations by the Centre. Moreover, earlier, it refused to file an affidavit in the matter, stating that the issue concerns national security. Thus, the Bench has no option but to appoint an expert committee.

The Court further held that in the era of information technology, it is crucial to safeguard the privacy of citizens. Not only the privacy of Journalists, etc. but also citizens of the Country. There are certain restrictions on the right to privacy, but the world's restriction on privacy is to prevent terrorist activity and can only be imposed when needed to protect national security. 

The Bench further added that Surveillance affects the freedom of people, and such surveillance technology may have chilling effects on the rights of the press.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal