New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) The Editors Guild of India has moved the Supreme Court seeking an SIT probe into the alleged Pegasus snooping allegations and also a disclosure from the Centre on the alleged use of spyware for hacking and surveillance between 2017 and 2021.
The journalists body also sought issuance of guidelines on surveillance on Indian citizens and safeguarding them from electronic surveillance, spying and hacking.
The plea said surveillance has a chilling effect on public actors holding the government accountable and also termed it unconstitutional and illegal, as surveillance impedes the free flow of ideas and information.
The plea said: "This has a severely detrimental impact on the ability of politicians and public officials to freely exercise their freedom of profession."
The plea also urged the top court to declare provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, and the Information Technology Act, allowing tapping of phones, as unconstitutional, illegal, and void.
Five journalists have also moved the Supreme Court stating the unauthorised use of surveillance by government agencies have violated their fundamental rights and they are directly affected by the use of Pegasus spyware.
The petitioners -- Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, S.N.M. Abdi, Prem Shankar Jha, Rupesh Kumar Singh, and Ipsa Shatakshi - urged the top court to issue directions to the Centre to produce and disclose all materials and documents, with respect to all investigation, authorisation, and orders pertaining to the use of Pegasus on them. The petitioners alleged they were subjected to deeply intrusive surveillance and hacking by government or some other third party.
Petitions in the matter have also been filed by advocate M.L. Sharma, CPI-M Rajya Sabha member John Brittas, and senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar. The top court has scheduled the matter for hearing on August 5.
The Safdarjung observatory, which recorded 72 mm rainfall for 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Friday, received 41.6 mm rainfall between 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed.
The deceased Rajesh Kumar sustained multiple injuries and died in Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH). Deceased's uncle Harendra Ram has alleged that Rajesh was having a love affair with a girl and her parents are involved in his murder.
A couple was found murdered at their residence while their ten-month-old son was spared by the killers. The incident took place on Wednesday in the Mani Ka Pura Mazra village.
Based on a tip-off, the Gujarat ATS arrested Sumra as he landed at Delhi Airport from Dubai. According to the Gujarat ATS, Sumra has been involved in four cases of peddling heroin and other narcotics substances worth Rs 2,500 crore.
After the meeting, she said: "We discussed issues related to road and infrastructure projects, including transport, road connectivity and manufacturing units of electric buses. We have also discussed building some flyovers in Kolkata."
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday gave the go-ahead for putting a new Bill for this before the Cabinet, paving the way for its enactment in the next Assembly session.
