In an extremely significant order, the Supreme Court on Wednesday, 27 October, created a special Technical Committee to probe allegations regarding the use of Pegasus spyware against Indian citizens.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana criticised the Union government for its refusal to clarify whether it had purchased and used the spyware, and said it had to accept the prima facie case of the petitioners, including victims of Pegasus hacking, and examine their allegations.
The Technical Committee will be overseen by former apex court judge Justice RV Raveendran, and has been asked to prepare a report after a thorough inquiry and submit it to the Supreme Court "expeditiously".
The members of the Technical Committee are:
Dr Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Professor (Cyber Security and Digital Forensics) and Dean, National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Dr Prabaharan P, Professor (School of Engineering), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala.
Dr Ashwin Anil Gumaste, Institute Chair Associate Professor (Computer Science and Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Maharashtra