Supreme Court wants Bengal to wait for outcome of Pegasus petitions

The Supreme Court on Wednesday prevented the Bengal government from pressing ahead with its own commission of inquiry into the Pegasus snooping allegations, before the top court adjudicated on multiple pleas by journalists, activists and NGOs for an independent SIT probe into them.

A three-judge bench, led by CJI CV Ramana, urged Bengal to show restraint while tagging a plea challenging a state government notification on setting up the Justice Madan Lokur commission of inquiry, with other Pegasus-related PILs. Justice Lokur is a retired top court judge.

The other member of the commission is Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, a retired judge of the Calcutta High Court. “Please maintain restraint. We are already hearing the Pegasus matter,” the CJI told the state, represented by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.


“This issue is connected to other issues. In all fairness, we expect you to wait. We will hear the matter sometime next week. Those matters are likely to have a pan-India impact.”

Should the state go ahead, the court would have to impose a stay on it, the CJI, who was sitting alongside Justices DY Chadrachud and Surya Kant, said.

Singhvi, mindful of the court’s concerns, immediately assured the top court that nothing would happen before the next date of hearing.