AGENCIES
The Supreme Court today stayed the functioning of the two-member Commission of Inquiry headed by retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Madan B Lokur which was constituted by the West Bengal government to probe the Pegasus surveillance scandal.
The order staying the commission’s functioning was passed by a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on a contempt petition pointing out how the commission was continuing its work despite a Supreme Court judgment of October 27 directing a probe into the scandal by a three-member expert committee headed by another former Supreme Court judge, Justice R.V. Raveendran.
The West Bengal government had constituted the commission even as the Supreme Court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking probe into the scandal.
Israel-based spyware firm NSO is best known for its Pegasus spyware, which it claims is sold only to “vetted governments” and not to private entities, though the company does not reveal which governments it sells the controversial product to.