The Supreme Court announced on Friday that its technical committee had received and tested 29 mobile devices suspected of being infected with Pegasus malware, giving it four weeks to submit a report to Justice R.V. Raveendran, a retired apex court judge overseeing the panel’s investigation into reports that the government used Israeli military-grade spyware to spy on journalists, parliamentarians, prominent citizens, and even court staff.
The committee had developed its own protocol/software to test the devices for malware, according to the interim report submitted to the Supreme court by a Special Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana.
The committee also recorded the statements of petitioners, journalists, and other allegedly affected individuals who had approached the court.
It has also reached out to experts and organizations, including government entities, who could “potentially shed light on the subject of inquiry.”
CJI reads an interim report on Pegasus
The CJI read out the interim report to lawyers, including senior advocate Kapil Sibal for the petitioners and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the Centre, to invite views and comments on the subject of inquiry.
The committee received a “large number of responses,” according to the interim report. The agency responses were still pending. It stated that the analysis of the responses was underway.
The committee stated that it would complete its investigation by the end of May 2022.
The overseeing judge, Justice Raveendran, would then need another 15 days to study the technical committee’s recommendations and add views and comments, according to the interim report.
Supreme COurt provided Extension
The interim report requested an extension of time to complete the exercise and file a comprehensive report with the Supreme Court until June 20, 2022.
“The procedure is underway. The lawyers agreed that the CJI should give them time.
When the parties, including the Union, requested that the interim report be made public, Chief Justice Ramana summarised its contents.
The interim report, according to the CJI, divided its court-appointed task into two areas.
“The first is the investigation itself. That is, the fact-finding report on the technical and digital forensic aspects of the reported use of Pegasus malware to target Indian citizens’ mobile phones. “The second is about recommendations for improving existing laws and procedures related to surveillance and securing rights, such as privacy and cyber security,” Chief Justice Ramana explained.
He stated that the committee was in charge of the first part of the task, which was being carried out under the supervision of the overseeing judge. The judge and two other experts assisting him were in charge of the second part.
The overseeing judge would add his own report on the laws to the technical committee’s report once it was submitted to him.
“So, we’ll get a comprehensive final report,” the CJI said orally.
The Bench, which also included Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, ordered the technical committee to “expeditiously examine the mobile devices they have received, preferably within four weeks, and submit a report to the overseeing judge.” Following that, we ask the overseeing judge to send the report as soon as possible.”
The case was scheduled for a hearing in July. By the end of August, Chief Justice Ramana will step down.
The Supreme court established the technical committee on October 27 last year, citing a “broad consensus” that “unauthorized surveillance/accessing of stored data from citizens’ phones and other devices for reasons other than nation’s security would be illegal, objectionable, and a matter of concern” in its 46-page order.
The Supreme court had listed several concerns in October, prompting the formation of the committee and the direction of an independent investigation. Several petitions had been filed, including one by senior journalists N. Ram and Shashi Kumar, calling for a fair investigation into the allegations.
The Supreme court stated that it was compelled to investigate the allegations because, if true, they would have an impact on the rights to privacy and freedom of speech. The Pegasus allegations have the potential to chill the entire population. There was also the possibility of foreign agencies getting involved. Most importantly, it claimed, the Union had not taken a firm stance in court on how it would address public concerns about illegal surveillance.
Dr. Sundeep Oberoi, Chairman, Sub-Committee in (International Organisation of Standardisation/International Electro-Technical Commission/Joint Technical Committee), and Alok Joshi, former IPS officer (1976 batch), assist Justice Raveendran.
Dr. Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Dean, and Professor (Cyber Security and Digital Forensics), National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat; Dr. Prabaharan P., Professor (School of Engineering), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala; and Dr. Ashwin Anil Gumaste, Institute Chair Associate Professor (Computer Science and Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Maharashtra.