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Editors Guild of India (EGI) approached the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking a direction for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged Pegasus snoopgate case.
There are already five petitions pending in the Apex Court on the same issue.The EGI has filed the petition before the Supreme Court through advocates: Rupali Samuel, Raghav Tankha, and others.
The petitioner, EGI, sought a direction to constitute an independent SIT to investigate the procurement and use of spyware, hacking or electronic surveillance tools such as ‘Pegasus’ in India.
The petition, a copy accessed by ANI, filed before the Supreme Court sought direction to monitor the investigation into the procurement and use of spyware, hacking or electronic surveillance tools such as ‘Pegasus’ in India.
The petitioner sought the issuance of guidelines on surveillance against Indian citizens including, guidelines for the safeguarding of journalists from surveillance including electronic surveillance, spying, and hacking.
The petitioner further also sought guidelines for safeguarding women who work as journalists from gendered crimes through surveillance, including electronic surveillance, spying, and hacking.
The EGI, in its petition filed before the Supreme Court, sought a direction to the Central government to produce the orders issued authorising the interception, monitoring, and decryption of electronic communication devices of Indian citizens under the relevant law and rules, with the reasons in writing for the issuance of the same, as mandated by law.
The petition sought a direction to the Centre to furnish information on the interception, monitoring, and decryption of information by using spyware, hacking, and electronic surveillance in India between 2017 to the present day in 2021.
“Did the Union of India, or any of its agencies, procure, license, obtain or use of spyware, hacking or electronic surveillance tools of any name from ‘NSO Group’ or its group companies and or affiliates on Indian citizens?” the petition filed by EGI, before the Supreme Court said.
The petitioner sought a direction to the Centre to produce any contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding entered into with foreign companies for supplying spyware, hacking or electronic surveillance for use on Indian Citizens.
The petitioner sought direction from the Centre government to disclose the details of how these spywares, hacking, or electronic surveillance tools were paid for.
The petitioner, EGI, sought a direction from the Supreme Court to the Centre to disclose the details of the list of people that have been under electronic surveillance, hacking, or otherwise spied on, including the details of who prepared and populated the said list and the details of every Indian citizen on the list.
The plea also said that the Apex Court should direct the Government of India to disclose the details of how many of the Indian citizens who have been under electronic surveillance, hacking, or otherwise spied on, were charged with indulging in serious crime.
The petitioner sought appropriate direction or order from the Supreme Court declaring Section 5 (2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 as being “unconstitutional, illegal, and void”.
Earlier, senior journalists N Ram and Sashi Kumar, CPM MP John Brittas and advocate ML Sharma also wanted the court to ask the government to disclose whether it obtained a licence for the spyware or used it – directly or indirectly – to conduct surveillance of any kind.
Senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and four others, who were on the alleged list of targets for surveillance by the Israeli military-grade spyware, have also filed the petitions in the court seeking that the installation or use of spyware be declared “illegal and unconstitutional”.
The unauthorised use of surveillance by government agencies have violated their fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, their petition read.
According to reports by news portal “The Wire”, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, two serving Union Ministers, an ex-Election Commissioner and 40 journalists were among names in an alleged list of potential targets. More than 142 people in India were on the alleged list.
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