Won't Disclose Report Touching on Security: SC on Pegasus Row

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it will not compromise the security of the nation by disclosing the contents of the report submitted to the court by the technical committee in the Pegasus snooping case, although it added that individuals whose phones were kept under surveillance deserve to know if their phones were hacked as their right to privacy enjoys Constitutional protection.

- Abraham Thomas

Hearing a clutch of petitions filed by individuals and organizations seeking an independent probe into the alleged hacking of phones and the involvement of the Centre in employing malware to snoop on private citizens, a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant said, "Any report touching on the security of the country, we are not going to disclose even a single word. But if there are private citizens, we can examine that part."

The matter has been kept for further consideration on July 30.

In October 2021, a technical committee was constituted to examine if phones of individuals were hacked and in 2022, the committee headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice (retd) RV Raveendran submitted its report in sealed cover.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for one of the petitioners, journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, claimed that while ordering the formation of the technical committee, the bench was not aware of whether the phones were hacked.