Pinnacle Court said only two devices given for probe yet regarding Pegasus spyware

The experts committee appointed by the apex court has now given more time, till February 8, for people to come forward and contact the panel if they suspected that their devices were infected by the Pegasus malware.

Few days back, a New York Times report claimed that India bought Pegasus spyware as part of a USD 2 billion defence deal with Israel in 2017, triggered a major controversy last Saturday, with the Opposition alleging that the government indulged in illegal snooping that amounted to "treason".

Just two persons affected by the Pegasus spyware have so far pledged to give their phones to the apex court directed experts committee looking into the Pegasus issue, forcing the panel to extend the timeline for affected persons to turn up before it.

In a public notice issued today in leading dailies, the SC appointed panel said that in response to its initial appeal to the public in January, only two persons have produced their mobile instruments for taking digital images.

Public notice said “Therefore, the technical committee once again requests those who have reasonable causes to believe their mobile instrument is infected with Pegasus spyware to come forward and contact the technical committee with reasons as to why they believe that their mobile instrument may have been infected with Pegasus malware on or before February 8, 2022, by an email…”.

The principal opposition party had also urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter and initiate appropriate penal proceedings against the government for attempting to "deliberately and knowingly deceive" the apex court.

In earlier notice last month had mentioned a timeline of January 7, 2022. These new directions come amid the fresh allegations in the Pegasus spyware issue.