Pegasus row: SC to decide next week on pleas seeking independent probe

The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 23) said that it will pronounce its interim order next week on a batch of pleas seeking an independent probe into the Pegasus snooping matter.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said the order, which was to be pronounced earlier, will now be delivered next week.

Also read: No plan to file detailed affidavit on Pegasus row, Centre tells SC

The top court on September 13 had reserved its order, saying it only wanted to know whether or not the Centre used the Pegasus spyware through illegal methods to allegedly snoop on citizens.

The Centre had stoutly refused to file an affidavit citing national security on pleas seeking an independent probe into the snooping row.

The pleas seeking an independent probe are related to reports of alleged snooping by government agencies on eminent citizens, politicians and scribes by using Israeli firm NSOs spyware Pegasus.

The Pegasus Project was a collaborative investigative journalism initiative undertaken by 17 media organisations. Pegasus is a spyware developed by the NSO Group, an Israeli technology and cyber-arms firm that can be secretly deployed on mobile phones and other devices, which run most versions of Android and iOS.

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

(With inputs from agencies)