New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) The Editors Guild of India has moved the Supreme Court seeking an SIT probe into the alleged Pegasus snooping allegations and also a disclosure from the Centre on the alleged use of spyware for hacking and surveillance between 2017 and 2021.
The journalists body also sought issuance of guidelines on surveillance on Indian citizens and safeguarding them from electronic surveillance, spying and hacking.
The plea said surveillance has a chilling effect on public actors holding the government accountable and also termed it unconstitutional and illegal, as surveillance impedes the free flow of ideas and information.
The plea said: "This has a severely detrimental impact on the ability of politicians and public officials to freely exercise their freedom of profession."
The plea also urged the top court to declare provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, and the Information Technology Act, allowing tapping of phones, as unconstitutional, illegal, and void.
Five journalists have also moved the Supreme Court stating the unauthorised use of surveillance by government agencies have violated their fundamental rights and they are directly affected by the use of Pegasus spyware.
The petitioners -- Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, S.N.M. Abdi, Prem Shankar Jha, Rupesh Kumar Singh, and Ipsa Shatakshi - urged the top court to issue directions to the Centre to produce and disclose all materials and documents, with respect to all investigation, authorisation, and orders pertaining to the use of Pegasus on them. The petitioners alleged they were subjected to deeply intrusive surveillance and hacking by government or some other third party.
Petitions in the matter have also been filed by advocate M.L. Sharma, CPI-M Rajya Sabha member John Brittas, and senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar. The top court has scheduled the matter for hearing on August 5.
A resident of Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district has sought divorce on grounds that his wife, under the influence of a 'tantrik' (shaman), was giving him only 'laddoos' to eat.
Top Kerala actress Manju Warrier and a 30-member crew of Malayalam film "Kyttem" has been trapped in a Himachal village following rains and landslides, Union Minister V. Muraleedharan said on Tuesday.
Out of the 8.36 million international overnight visitors that Dubai welcomed in the first six months of 2019, a whopping 997,000 visitors were from India, according to data released by Dubai Tourism on Tuesday.
Unprecedented security cover has been provided to underworld don Chhota Rajan inside the Tihar jail following a poisoning threat by the D-company and Pakistan-based terror groups.
In the first encounter in nearly two weeks, a fierce gun-battle broke out this evening between terrorists and security forces in Baramulla area of north Kashmir. This is also the first encounter after abrogation of Article 370 in J&K.
