Apex court issues notice to Bengal Govt over legality of commission
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea to set aside a notification issued by the West Bengal Government to set up a Commission of Inquiry to probe the Pegasus snooping allegations. However, the SC issued notices to the Centre and West Bengal Government to respond to the plea challenging the legality of the commission.
A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana issued notices to them and posted the matter for hearing on August 25.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur and former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya are the members of the Commission of Inquiry announced by the Bengal Government last month.
Advocate Saurabh Mishra, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench that the Commission of Inquiry should not conduct further proceedings in the interregnum.
He told the bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, that public notice has been issued by the Commission of Inquiry and proceedings are taking place on a day-to-day basis.
“We will see, wait”, the bench said and asked him to serve the copy of the petition to the respondents.
The counsel argued that the petition challenges the notification, issued by the West Bengal Government last month appointing a Commission of Inquiry to probe into the snooping allegations, on the ground of jurisdiction.
“The problem is there is some inconsistency in your affidavit. You say you want inquiry, at the same time you are opposing the Commission of Inquiry,” the bench said.
It added, “In your affidavit and in your petition, you must be consistent.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said he would be assisting the court on Constitutional questions involved in the matter.
“This is unconstitutional is all I can say,” he told the bench.
An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware.
The apex court had on Tuesday issued notice to the Centre on a batch of pleas seeking an independent probe into the alleged Pegasus snooping matter, making it clear that it did not want the Government to disclose anything which compromises national security.