The Supreme Court should impose a moratorium on the export, sale, transfer and use of Pegasus spyware in India and investigate the espionage scandal, women's rights activists, human rights defenders and concerned citizens have urged the President of the Supreme Court of India (CJI), NVRamana in an open letter to him.
“We believe that the only way the Supreme Court can instil confidence in the minds of people, and especially women, is by transparently demanding and making public all responses related to the use of Pegasus in India.
In particular, we expect the Supreme Court to declare a moratorium on the export, sale, transfer and use of Pegasus in India, ”reads the open letter to more than 500 signatories, including Ayesha Kidwai, professor at JNU; Romila Thapar, historian; Harsh Mander, human rights activist; Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association; Vrinda Grover, senior attorney; Lillette Dubey, actress and director.
Ranjan Gogoi, number The letter also raises the issue that the woman who accused former CJI Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment was spied on, as well as 10 cell phone numbers linked to members of her family who were hacked.
"If the complainant were under such criminal compulsion at this point, could the InHouse Committee proceedings have been really free and fair? The silence of the Supreme Court as an institution on these revelations is deeply troubling to women in India."
The letter qualifies the hacking episode as an act of "government-sponsored cyber-terrorism" and confirms that the "Pegasus Project and publicly available information raise concerns about the integrity of the constitutional agencies, including the independence of the Supreme Court: rights." and peoples' freedoms, of which the Supreme Court is the guardian, are in great danger.