Pegasus case
Also called: Manohar Lal Sharma v. Union of India (2021) · Topic: Transparency, Accountability and e-Governance · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Pegasus case is Manohar Lal Sharma v. Union of India. It was a Supreme Court order of 27 October 2021 about claims that Pegasus spyware was used to spy on Indian citizens' phones. The Court held that the State does not get a "free pass" just by citing national security. Courts can still examine claims of illegal surveillance. The Court set up a technical committee supervised by Justice R.V. Raveendran. The case matters for privacy and for the limits on State surveillance.
Example
In August 2022, the committee reported that it found malware on 5 of the 29 phones it examined. It could not confirm the malware was Pegasus. It also noted that the Centre did not cooperate with it.
Don't confuse with
- Lawful interception: the government can legally intercept messages under IT Act s.69 and the Telecommunications Act 2023. The Pegasus case was about alleged secret spyware use outside such checks.