Nothing wrong in using spyware for nation’s safety: Supreme Court

The North News

New Delhi, April 30

The Supreme Court has said there is nothing inherently wrong in the state deploying  Pegasus spyware for national security, but affirmed that allegations of its misuse against private citizens must be examined with care. The Supreme Court made remarks during hearings on multiple petitions accusing the government of using Pegasus, a military-grade Israeli spyware, to illegally place journalists, activists, politicians and judges under surveillance.

 “There is nothing wrong if the country is using that spyware against adverse elements,” the Supreme Court said, legal news outlet Bar and Bench reported. “We cannot compromise and sacrifice the security of the nation.”

While maintaining that the contents of a sealed report submitted by a technical committee in the Pegasus case would not be made public “in the interest of national security,” the bench acknowledged that individuals who were possibly targeted have a constitutional right to know whether their devices were compromised, according to the news outlet The Hindustan Times.

“If private civil individuals were put under surveillance, their complaints must be looked at. The right to privacy is protected under the Constitution,” the Supreme Court noted.