Tamil Nadu MP demands contempt case against NSO group & Home Secretary over Pegasus row

In another development in the ongoing feud on the Pegasus spyware snooping row, Dr T Thirumavalavan, a Tamil Nadu MP, wrote to Attorney General of India KK Venugopal on Saturday, requesting his permission to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, former Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, and the directors of the NSO Group, the Israeli firm that owns the spyware Pegasus. 

Tamil Nadu MP demands action against Home Secretary & NSO group on Pegasus row

In the letter, the Tamil Nadu MP from the Chidambaram district demanded a probe into the accused whom he alleged to be involved in conducting "military-grade surveillance" against a Supreme Court justice while he was still in office, two Supreme Court registry officers on the judicial side of the writ department, and another Supreme Court staffer.

As per a report by ANI, in the letter, he stated, "Some of the alleged hacking and surveillance has occurred during the tenure of the present Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and some of it in the tenure of Rajiv Gauba, the then Home Secretary (who now happens to be the Cabinet Secretary). It is therefore proposed that both Bhalla and Gauba be arraigned as alleged contemnors in the proposed contempt petition for which Your consent is sought.”  

Demanding Attorney General, a thorough probe on the Pegasus row, he said such conduct aims to obstruct and interfere with the administration of justice, making it criminal contempt of court under S. 2(c)(iii) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 and is highly punishable.

The letter is based on the media reports which have earlier claimed that the Pegasus spyware was used to snoop on Justice Arun Mishra, a former Supreme Court judge, as well as two employees and a women staffer who raised sexual harassment claims against former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. The reports have alleged that they have discovered phone numbers of these people among those who were being targeted.

"For the judiciary to perform its duties and functions effectively it is necessary to protect the authority of courts at all costs. Any unjust interference with the work of the judiciary will weaken the cornerstone of our constitutional scheme and, hence, jeopardise the rule of law and civilised life in society. This is the sole reason that the Judiciary in India has been vested with powers to punish those who indulge in any act which tends to interfere or obstructs the judges from discharging their duties without fear or favour," the letter reads.

Supreme Court adjourns hearing on Pegasus Probe Plea till Aug 16

This comes at a time when the Supreme court is hearing the petition demanding a court-monitored probe in the matter. The Supreme Court earlier this week adjourned the pleas seeking a probe into the Pegasus snooping row to August 16 after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to seek instructions from the Centre.

A division bench of CJI NV Ramana and Justice Surya Kant was hearing petitions filed by advocate ML Sharma, CPI MP John Brittas, Association for Democratic Reforms founder Jagdeep Chhokar, Narendra Mishra, three journalists and the Editors Guild of India. 

With ANI Inputs
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