Pegasus Snooping Row: Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Plea Next Week

New Delhi: Amid the row over the Pegasus spyware report, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea seeking a direction for an independent probe by its sitting or retired judge into the alleged snooping scandal. The plea was filed by veteran journalists N Ram and Sashi Kumar.Also Read - PM Modi, HM Amit Shah Have 'Hit Soul of India's Democracy by Using Pegasus': Rahul Gandhi

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice Surya Kant stating that civil liberties of citizens, politicians, belonging to Opposition parties, journalists, and court staff have been put under surveillance. Also Read - Millions Sleep Well at Night, Walk Safely on Streets Due to Technologies Like Pegasus: NSO

The plea filed by scribes said mass surveillance using a military-grade spyware abridges several fundamental rights and appears to represent an attempt to infiltrate, attack and destabilise independent institutions, which are critical pillars of country’s democratic set-up.