Yashwant Sinha Moves Supreme Court For Probe in Pegasus Controversy

Yashwant Sinha moves the SC for Pegasus Controversy probe…learn more…

Friday, 6th August 2021

In yet another development in the Pegasus spyware row, Yashwant Sinha has moved the country’s apex court urging it to order an investigation into the Pegasus controversy where the Centre has been accused of an illegal use of the spyware.

The former Union Finance Minister has sought a court monitored probe in the matter and the writ petition has also requested clear guidelines for creation of an oversight mechanism that will help handle any surveillance related request that is made by and to any Ministry or governmental agency.

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Advocates Abhimanyu Tiwari and Ashray Chopra who have filed the plea for Sinha have sought directions form the Court on the same lines as given during a judgement passed in the case of People's Union of Civil Liberties v. Union of India and Ors. (where telephonic conversations were considered to be an important aspect of a modern man’s private life). This they seek until proper regulations are introduced by the central government that will ensure the protection of the right to privacy of individual citizens.

Sinha, who has been a long time parliamentarian has put forward his case that clearly suggests that this sort of mass surveillance with the help of spyware that is no less than military grade is a mockery of several Fundamental Rights with its conscious moves at trying to infiltrate, attack and destabilise independent institutions. These bodies can sometimes be crucial pillars in our democratic set-up, said the plea.

The petition further reads, “The Respondent Government has used a certified military foreign origin spyware against its own citizens. The citizens of the country have a right to know whether their personal information was being used by foreign or Indian agencies under the oversight of the Respondent Government.”

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

 NDTV