'Cannot allow spying': Supreme Court orders probe into Pegasus

Former apex court judge R V Raveendran, 75, will monitor the probe by the technical panel whose members are experts in cyber security and digital forensics

The Supreme Court on Wednesday set up a 3-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India, observing the state cannot get a “free pass” every time the spectre of national security is raised and that its mere invocation cannot render the judiciary a “mute spectator” and be the bugbear it shies away from.

In a significant verdict over the issue of protecting citizens’ right to privacy that was welcomed by legal experts, a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana asserted that in a democratic country governed by the