Pegasus case: Supreme Court won’t disclose report that touches country’s security, sovereignty

The Supreme Court on 29 April, Tuesday, said it would not disclose any report that touches the security and sovereignty of the country but indicated that it may address individual apprehensions of privacy breaches in the Pegasus case.

A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh said the report of the technical committee should not be made a document for discussion on the streets.

“Any report which touches the security and sovereignty of the country will not be touched. But individuals who want to know whether they are included, that can be informed. Yes, individual apprehension must be addressed but it cannot be made a document for discussion on the streets,” the bench observed.

The top court also said it will have to examine to what extent the technical panel report can be shared with individuals.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the petitioners, submitted that there is a US district court judgement.

“WhatsApp itself has disclosed here. Not a third party. WhatsApp has said about the hacking,” Sibal said.

The apex court said it would hear the matter on 30 July.

An international media consortium had reported that over 300 verified Indian cellphone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using the Pegasus spyware.