Govindacharya withdraws plea against WhatsApp

The Supreme Court Monday allowed former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue K N Govindacharya to withdraw his plea seeking initiation of "perjury" proceedings against WhatsApp for allegedly misleading the top court by claiming that the users' data is "fully encrypted".

Mr Govindacharya had also sought a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe against social media platforms Facebook, WhatsApp and Israeli technology firm NSO Group for violating "fundamental privacy of Indians".

The Supreme Court asked senior advocate Vikas Singh - appearing for Mr Govindacharya - to withdraw the plea after the counsel for WhatsApp said that similar petitions were pending before the top court.