Stating that the Centre can’t get a free pass every time by stating “national security”, the Supreme Court on 27 October appointed an external committee to investigate the allegations of unauthorised use of the Pegasus spyware on citizens.

After weeks of back and forth between the Centre, the petitioners, and the court on Pegasus, the apex court sharply noted in its order that the “vague denial from the government is not sufficient”, and that it had no option but to set up a panel to examine the allegations made by the petitioners.

The court's stern observations on the issue comes after hearing a clutch of petitions, which requested a probe into the allegations of the Centre’s use of the spyware on over 142 Indian citizens. 


The revelations regarding the use of spyware were made after a consortium of media organisations around the world reported in July, the use of the spyware on prominent politicians like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, 40 Indian journalists, and several private citizens. However, the Centre has to date refused to take a clear stand on whether it has purchased or used the spyware.


And given the Centre’s stonewalling on this issue, how significant are the observations made by the court? Will an expert committee be able to unearth the answers that the court has been unable to do so thus far? What powers will this committee have?

Joining me today to discuss the significance of the order and also what functions the expert committee will possess is  Tune in!


Host and Producer: Himmat Shaligram

Guest: Apar Gupta, the Executive Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, and Gunjan Chawla, Programme Manager of Technology & National Security at the Centre for Communication Governance at NLU Delhi.
Editor: Shelly Walia
Interviews: Vakasha Sachdev, The Quint's Legal Editor.

Music: Big Bang Fuzz
Listen to The Big Story podcast on:
Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIlSaavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78CGoogle Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7SSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQDeezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5NgCastbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

<div>Stating that the Centre can’t get a free pass every time by stating “national security”, the Supreme Court on 27 October appointed an external committee to investigate the allegations of unauthorised use of the Pegasus spyware on citizens.<br>
<br>

</div>
<div>After weeks of back and forth between the Centre, the petitioners, and the court on Pegasus, the apex court sharply noted in its order that the “vague denial from the government is not sufficient”, and that it had no option but to set up a panel to examine the allegations made by the petitioners.<br>
<br>

</div>
<div>The court's stern observations on the issue comes after hearing a clutch of petitions, which requested a probe into the allegations of the Centre’s use of the spyware on over 142 Indian citizens. <br>
<br>
The revelations regarding the use of spyware were made after a consortium of media organisations around the world reported in July, the use of the spyware on prominent politicians like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, 40 Indian journalists, and several private citizens. However, the Centre has to date refused to take a clear stand on whether it has purchased or used the spyware.<br>
<br>
And given the Centre’s stonewalling on this issue, how significant are the observations made by the court? Will an expert committee be able to unearth the answers that the court has been unable to do so thus far? What powers will this committee have?<br>
<br>

</div>
<div>Joining me today to discuss the significance of the order and also what functions the expert committee will possess is  Tune in!<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong>Host and Producer: </strong>Himmat Shaligram</div>
<div>
<strong><br>
Guest: </strong>Apar Gupta, the Executive Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, and Gunjan Chawla, Programme Manager of Technology &amp; National Security at the Centre for Communication Governance at NLU Delhi.</div>
<div>
<br>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Shelly Walia</div>
<div>
<br>
<strong>Interviews:</strong> Vakasha Sachdev, The Quint's Legal Editor.<br>
<br>

</div>
<div>
<strong>Music:</strong> Big Bang Fuzz</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><strong>Listen to The Big Story podcast on:</strong></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Apple: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.co%2F2AYdLIl&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">https://apple.co/2AYdLIl</a>
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<div>Saavn: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2oix78C&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">http://bit.ly/2oix78C</a>
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<div>Spotify: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fspoti.fi%2F2IyLAUQ&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ</a>
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<div>Deezer: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2Vrf5Ng&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng</a>
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<div>Castbox: <a href="http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur">http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur</a>
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The Big Story is back with a second season!

The news culture of our times is noisy, crowded, and honestly so confusing. This is why we are coming every fortnight on your podcast platforms to help you make sense of the new and now. 

With two new hosts, Anjali and Prateek, the second season of The Big Story will feature longer and well-rounded discussions with experts across science, culture, technology, politics, and more. Tune in on your preferred podcast platform!   



Millions of listeners seek out Bingepods (Ideabrew Studios Network content) every day. Get in touch with us to advertise, join the network or click listen to  enjoy content by some of India's top audio creators.
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<p>The Big Story is back with a second season!</p>
<p>The news culture of our times is noisy, crowded, and honestly so confusing. This is why we are coming every fortnight on your podcast platforms to help you make sense of the new and now. <br aria-hidden="true"><br aria-hidden="true">With two new hosts, Anjali and Prateek, the second season of The Big Story will feature longer and well-rounded discussions with experts across science, culture, technology, politics, and more. Tune in on your preferred podcast platform!   </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Millions of listeners seek out <a href="https://bingepods.com/">Bingepods</a> (Ideabrew Studios Network content) every day. Get in touch with us to advertise, join the network or click listen to  enjoy content by some of India's top audio creators.</em><br><em><a href="mailto:studio@ideabrews.com">studio@ideabrews.com</a></em></p>
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