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For the free world, individual privacy has always been deemed to be a sacrosanct right. That was why a report, titled 'Project Pegasus', coordinated to appear in a number of newspapers across the world, alleging that over 50,000 people in 50 countries had been subjected to clandestine surveillance by ruling regimes using the military-grade Pegasus spyware developed in Israel, caused sensation a few years ago. Ripples of the Pegasus scandal had reached India too, where over 300 mobile phones of prominent personalities were allegedly hacked with the spyware, thereby violating their right to privacy.
The Centre denied any wrongdoing, but its detractors were not convinced, and pointed out that Israel permitted the sale of Pegasus technology only to governments. Several eminent citizens had then petitioned the Supreme Court of India for its intervention. But, despite prods from the apex court to the Centre asking it to reveal if it or any of its agencies obtained a license for Pegasus spyware and used it, the government refused to disclose any information on the matter, citing national security issues. The recalcitrance on the Centre's part had spurred the Supreme Court into action, and asserting that violation of fundamental rights "could have a chilling effect", it had set up an enquiry committee to investigate the matter. But the report submitted by the committee has not so far been made public and the Pegasus conundrum remains unresolved.
However, with pleas made on the grounds that new evidence of Pegasus being used against individuals by the Indian State has been found - for instance, a recent revelation by Meta had indicated that around 100 Indians have been victims of Pegasus spyware - the matter has come up before the apex court once more. While hearing fresh arguments in the Pegasus spyware case, the court indicated that it would not be wrong for the government to use that spyware against elements who jeopardized national security, stating that "national security cannot be compromised".
But it hit the nail on the head by adding a crucial caveat: "Who it is being used against is the question." It seems to be self- evident that in a democracy, the State cannot indiscriminately spy on each and every citizen, or indulge in fishing expeditions to try and unearth incriminating evidence against individuals, if India is to retain its truly democratic credentials and not be called a 'police State' like China or North Korea. If the Indian government has been guilty of violating citizens' right to privacy, it must be exposed and the heinous practice stopped. Indeed, with the fresh pleas claiming that new evidence has come up which can now prove how Pegasus has been used against private citizens, it is incumbent on the part of the apex court to examine it and settle at least this aspect of the controversy.