It is high time the SC commission of enquiry took steps to uphold democratic accountability towards security issues, first by revealing the contents of the report and, secondly, by making it public even if it hurts the State.
by Sanjay Kapoor
A US court finds Pegasus, the Israeli military grade surveillance software liable for intruding into WhatsApp numbers, undermining the promise of messaging platform’s owner, Meta, to provide a safe and secure software. The US judge found 1400 numbers that were intruded by Pegasus and in doing so the Israeli company had also violated the US government’s Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CLAA), besides other violation of the state laws. Out of 1400 WhatsApp number that were tapped through Pegasus, 300 were that of Indians. These included couple of Union ministers, 3 opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, journalists, activists and many others. The sale of the surveillance software was only to governments so it may not fall in the wrong hands. But it was used by authoritarian leaders to keep tabs on their political opponents. While the Indian government has denied use of this surveillance software, there is plenty of evidence to prove the Indian imprimatur on Pegasus. It begins with the fact that NSO company that owned and managed Pegasus was initially owned by a person of Indian descent, Dipanjan “DJ” Deb, of Francisco Partners, which took over NSO around the same time when Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.
According to New York Times report, the Indian government acquired Pegasus software in 2017 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a visit to Tel Aviv in 2017, an election year when the BJP won many closely contested elections. At the time this deal was struck, the company was owned by Dipanjan Deb led Francisco Partners, but there is no evidence on the internet about the company’s proximity to the Indian government. The Francisco Partners sold NSO back to the founders in 2019. There are gaps in our understanding about many aspects of the deal, but the NSO owned Pegasus surveillance software was allegedly put to good use by the central government against many of those who disagreed with BJP.
Before we go further on the obfuscation by the central government about acquiring and using Pegasus, the surveillance software was used by governments in Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Israel itself. In Saudi Arabia, Pegasus was embedded in the phones of the family members of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. His movements were tracked and he was navigated into going to the Saudi embassy in Turkey, where he was murdered in a gruesome manner. This single incident brought to the fore how technology was being used to target defenceless dissidents. Similarly, the government in Israel used Pegasus against those protestors who campaigned against Netanyahu. Citizen Lab, which revealed how Pegasus had been used by Indian government against its critics, also found its extensive use in Mexico by its nation’s army. The concern of the Mexican army were largely journalists as they wanted to know what they were up to.
In India, the government allegedly did not confine its surveillance to media persons, but also drew its arc of attack on civil society activists also. Maharashtra police arrested activists in Bhima Koregaon case and charged them under draconian UAPA. Many of those accused by the state included Sudha Bharadwaj and late Stan Swamy. Among others were those who had worked with Dalits for long years. Eighty-four-year-old Jesuit priest Swamy died in prison when he was unable to convince the court to give him a straw to drink as his hands could not hold the container. The incident brought disgrace to the Indian state and its much-vaunted judiciary. Many Dalit intellectuals including Anand Teltumbde, a close relative of Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar, were arrested and released only after they spent considerable time in jail for alleged subversion.
A report by a digital forensics consulting company named Arsenal Consulting revealed that this military grade malware was used to surveil and plant evidence on the computers of two of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Also, Stan Swamy was allegedly kept under watch since 2014 through similar devices. It also came to light that many Kashmiri activists were visibly trapped by theis surveillance software after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A on 5 August 2019.
It was Citizen Lab and Amnesty International that first found the impression of many WhatsApp numbers being contaminated by Pegasus. The Indian government denied the accusations, but later asked the Delhi police to look into it. From the very outset, perfunctoriness was written all over this probe. Many activists refused to part with their phone as the phone number and the data could have compromised further. Innumerable petitions were filed in the Supreme Court compelling the apex court to institute an enquiry under Justice Raveendran, who found no conclusive evidence of Pegasus. But the truth is that the commission of enquiry did not get any support from the government.
The judgement of the US court on a petition by Meta has shown the Indian government and the courts in a bad light. They have been helped by the fact that the government or NSO has revealed what has been sold to New Delhi. There have been evidence coming from state governments that NSO were in the market to sell the software. West Bengal government claimed that NSO tried to hawk its software for 25 crores, but it did not buy it. Similar revelations were made by Chhattisgarh government too. Interestingly, Andhra Pradesh politicians claimed that they had been surveiled by the local government when they were in the opposition. After they came to power, we see no evidence as they are now allies of the ruling BJP.
There are reports that the government is resorting to deniability by claiming it does not have the surveillance software. Insiders claim that the software has been handed over to indoctrinated private detective agencies that are close to its government and its agencies. They keep track of the detractors of this government including their mobility. Some stray statements of those claiming its use have surfaced in the media from time to time.
After the US judgement, it is high time the SC commission of enquiry took steps to uphold democratic accountability towards security issues, first by revealing the contents of the report and, secondly, by making it public even if it hurts the State.
Sanjay Kapoor is a senior journalist and political commentator.
