India SC to hear plea for probe on pegasus spyware issue

India's Supreme Court today agreed to hear next week the plea of senior journalists N Ram seeking a probe by a sitting or a retired judge into the Pegasus snooping matter.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Ram and another veteran journalist Sashi Kumar, that the petition has been filed and numbered and needed to be heard in view of the huge ramifications of the alleged snooping, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"We will list it sometime next week," Justice Ramana said.

The plea by Ram and Kumar said the alleged snooping represented an attempt by agencies and organisations to muzzle and chill the exercise of free speech and expression of dissent in India.

Mentioning the Pegasus matter before the bench this morning, Sibal, also a senior Congress leader, said the issue "is an urgent matter that is making waves not just in India but internationally."

An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on a list of potential targets for surveillance using Israeli firm NSO's Pegasus spyware.