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.
The paan shops dotting Varanasi became hotspots for debate today -- not on who will win from this Lok Sabha seat but on the victory margin of the Varanasi MP, PM Narendra Modi.
The NDA's landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections has put the spotlight on the next big headline: the men and women who will be in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers.
Nearly 1.5 crore young "digital natives", most of whom cast their votes for the first time, chose to vote for Narendra Modi as India's next prime minister and Chinese short video-sharing app TikTok played a great role
There was no official confirmation of his illness or on his possible London trip. But sources also added he has a personal family event in June first week, so there are possibilities that he may leave for London after that.
