During the proceeding to hear a slew of petitions demanding a court-monitored independent investigation into the alleged Pegasus snooping, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India repeatedly asked the solicitor general whether the government would come clean about the purchase or use of Pegasus. On 17th of August, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre on the petitions brought before it regarding the deployment of the Pegasus malware against Indian citizens. The subject will be revisited in 10 days. Incidentally, India celebrated its 75th year of independence two days before this court case.
From
the acceptable into the intolerable; from a recognized democracy to a scorn
authoritarianism; from unrestrained freedom to infamous system of surveillance;
from a decent confidentiality to a mockery of privacy …… this is how India has
entered into its 75th year of independence. The political critiques,
free thinkers and investigative journalists who are called as the messengers of
democracy are deeply feared by the increasingly insecure ruler. They become the
targets of snooping anytime, anywhere and by all means. It is not a surprise
that the messenger of democracy would be placed under deep surveillance because
the ruling class not only lives on fear but often under perceived non-existent
threats. That is why, for the ruler, a surveillance system is necessary to
build up.
In a recognised democracy, the government’s invasion of privacy to curb the human rights is unacceptable. Revelations of Pegasus, the latest in technology to hack journalists, is an example of expansive global design. From Mexico to Rwanda to Saudi Arabia, Governments across the world have used Pegasus to spy their own citizens, especially journalists, human rights campaigners and other social activists.
The
Pegasus case poses an unprecedented challenge to India. The emergence of
surveillance state shows that the present ruling dispensation has very little
or no regard for democracy or its institutions respond to it. India is widely
regarded as the world's largest democracy. Since its independence, India has
suffered from a number of inadequacies, some of which are fundamental to human
progress. India ranks below average in the global hunger index, per capita
health spending, human capital index, literacy rate, education index, world
happiness index, human development index, social progress index, gender
inequality index, and global youth development index. However, the right to
free speech and expression has always been prioritised. The country has always
upheld democratic norms. Since Narendra Modi's election as Prime Minister of
India in May 2014, India's liberal democracy index score has plummeted along
with all the development indices. India's freedom of expression index has also
drastically declined. There has been a sharp fall in India’s civil society
participation index score. The party that controls the present government at
the centre, envisions a country devoid of pluralism. This has major
implications for the country's democratic culture and democratic institutions.
Freedom of expression is a universal human right. It is not the politician's prerogative. It is also not a journalist's prerogative. In their daily work, journalists are merely practising every citizen's right to free speech. In any civilised society, it is essential for all citizens to have not just the right to free speech, but also the right to accurate information. The freedom of the press can fulfil citizens' entitlement to truthful information. A free press is essential in any democratic society. It keeps those in power accountable. The press gives a forum for a diverse range of voices to be heard. It is the public's watchdog, activist, and protector.
Even before the Pegasus Scandal broke out, India had been witnessing a serious decline in press freedom. The government’s direct and indirect assaults on media-persons partially succeeded in creating a climate of self-censorship. Gradually, India was turning out to be a dangerous place for journalists to work freely and without fear.
In 2020, at least 226 journalists and two media houses were targeted, 13 were killed, 37 were arrested or detained, 64 had FIRs registered against them. In addition, show-cause notices or summons were issued against 13 journalists and one newspaper, 101 journalists were subjected to physical assault or online threats or their houses and family members were attacked. This is according to the “Indian Press Freedom Report 2020”.
Most of the journalists, attacked during the last year, were from Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Karnataka. These included 12 women journalists who had faced physical violence, online harassment and threats. During the first tenure of the Modi government, between 2014 to 2019, more than 200 serious attacks on journalists took place and 40 journalists were killed in the same period. In 2020, as per the World Press Freedom Index, India ranked 142 out of 180 countries. Reporters Sans Frontiers called India “the most” dangerous country in the world for journalists.
This year, in the month of May, during the India-European Union summit, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) submitted a letter to the European Union. The letter highlighted the hostile situation under which journalists in India are working and requested European Union to urge the Indian government not to interfere with the journalists or retaliate against them who were doing their jobs.
Several petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court in response to the Pegasus revelations. The petitioners have asked the Union of India to divulge whether the government or any of its agencies purchased Pegasus and used it for spying in any way. They have also questioned the ramifications of such a hack and whether it was an attempt by agencies and groups to censor and chill the exercise of free speech and criticism in India.
The Pegasus hack is a direct attack on communicational, intellectual, and informational privacy, putting real privacy practice in these contexts at risk. The right to privacy includes the ability to use and control one's mobile phone or electronic equipment. Any interception by hacking or tapping is a violation of this fundamental right. If the attack did occur, it was an unacceptable infringement of the right to privacy, which has been recognised as a basic right. India has an unprecedented difficulty as a result of the Pegasus issue. The future will be determined by how the nation and its institutions react to it.
The right to privacy, free speech, and freedom of expression should be recognised as essential human rights. This should be safeguarded in order to maintain India's democratic character in its 75th year of independence.
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