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Far too many cases have been diluted with the appointment of external panels, in turn compromising civil liberties
On October 27, the Supreme Court of India appointed an independent committee to inquire into charges that the Union government had used the mobile phone spyware Pegasus to invade, access, and snoop into devices used by India’s citizens. The Court’s direction has been met with adulation. But the time to sing our paeans is not yet here. Much as the Court’s declarations of law brim with brio, its order still falls short of delivering justice.
No guarantee still
Faced with the Government’s resolute refusal to file a proper affidavit, either confirming or denying the use of Pegasus, the Court, one might have thought, would have issued a writ compelling the state to adduce evidence. Instead, it left the fact finding to a committee of experts. There is no guarantee that a government that chose to remain silent before the Court will now somehow come clean before an external panel. The question then is this: should the Government fail to cooperate, how must the Court respond?
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