Govt seeks more time from SC to file fresh affidavit on Pegasus spying row

The Central government on Tuesday sought more time from the Supreme Court to file a fresh affidavit on the Pegasus spying allegations and received time till September 13 to do so.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought permission from a three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, on the grounds that an affidavit couldn’t be filed for a variety of reasons. “Some officers were not available and I couldn’t meet them,” Mehta said in his defence.

The bench, which also comprised Justices AS Bopanna and BR Gavai, granted the government an extension one more time to file a fresh affidavit.


In its first affidavit, the government had claimed that all tapping in the country was done as per the norms. By implication, the government had claimed that nothing was done illegally in the country as was claimed by a host of petitions filed in court.

Among those who have moved court seeking an SIT probe into the allegations that the Pegasus malware was used to spy on several journalists, opposition leaders and known dissenters, include the likes of N Ram, Prem Shankar Jha, advocates and NGOs.

The petitioners had, at the last hearing, expressed their disappointment over the government affidavit and demanded more specifics on whether the government had bought Pegasus and if any government department had used it. The government has cited state security concerns to claim that it cannot share any information regarding the issue in open court with all. Instead, the government said that it would share the information only with the court.

After the petitioners in the case rejected the government affidavit, the court gave the government yet another opportunity to file a detailed, more comprehensive affidavit.