Pegasus Row: Supreme Court-Appointed Committee Extends Timeline for Affected People to Come Forward

Just two persons affected by the Pegasus spyware have so far pledged to give their phones to the SC-appointed technical committee looking into the Pegasus issue, forcing the panel to extend the timeline for affected persons to turn up before it.

The technical committee appointed by the Supreme Court has now given more time, till February 8, for people to come forward and contact the panel if they suspected that their devices were infected by the Pegasus malware.

The development comes amid the fresh allegations in the Pegasus spyware issue.

A recent New York Times report claiming that India bought Pegasus spyware as part of a $2 billion (roughly Rs. 14,900 crore) defence deal with Israel in 2017, triggered a major controversy last Saturday, with the Opposition alleging that the government indulged in illegal snooping that amounted to "treason".

In a public notice issued on Thursday in leading dailies, the SC appointed panel said that in response to its initial appeal to the public in January, only two persons have produced their mobile instruments for taking digital images.

"Therefore, the technical committee once again requests those who have reasonable causes to believe their mobile instrument is infected with Pegasus spyware to come forward and contact the technical committee with reasons as to why they believe that their mobile instrument may have been infected with Pegasus malware on or before February 8, 2022, by an email...," it said.

The previous notice last month had mentioned a timeline of January 7, 2022.