New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision to form a panel to probe the Pegasus snooping allegations, the Left parties on Wednesday said the apex court's remark that the State cannot get a "free pass" every time by invoking national security is a vindication of their stand on the issue.

The Supreme Court appointed a three-member panel of cyber experts to probe the alleged use of Pegasus for surveillance of certain people in India, saying every citizen needs protection against privacy violations.

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In a statement, the CPI(M) said, "The government had refused to give a categorical answer to the Supreme Court whether any State agency used Pegasus spyware or not. This evasive stand, itself, was an admission of their complicity in the matter."

"It was the same obduracy that saw the entire monsoon session of Parliament getting stalled. Since the Court has observed that national security cannot be the cover to deny a concrete response, it is incumbent upon the government to give a categorical reply," it said.

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The CPI(M) said the committee should invite opinions from persons of the public to present their views.

"It should also invite foreign experts to testify as this spyware has international ramifications. The committee should complete the enquiry expeditiously," it said.

The CPI also welcomed the Supreme Court's decision and said it was a "reprimand of the government."

"The party has highlighted the fact that the Chief Justice of India in the order has specifically underlined the fact that there has been no 'specific denial by the Centre' and also observed that the state cannot get a free pass every time by raising national security concerns.

"The CJI also made it clear that while we live in the era of information and recognise technology is important, we have to accept that it is equally important to safeguard the right to privacy, which is important for all citizens.

"The party feels that its stand on the illegal snooping issue demanding a thorough probe is vindicated," the CPI said in a separate statement.

The opposition had disrupted proceedings during the last monsoon session with vociferous protests over the Pegasus issue after an international investigative consortium claimed that many Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists were potentially targeted by the Israeli company NSO Group's phone hacking software.

In a suo motu statement in Parliament, IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had dismissed the reports, saying that with several checks and balances being in place, "any sort of illegal surveillance" by unauthorised persons is not possible in India.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said every citizen needs protection against privacy violation and mere invocation of "national security by State" does not render the court a "mute spectator".

Finding material that "prima facie merits consideration", a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli declined to allow the Centre to appoint an expert panel on its own, saying such a course would violate the settled judicial principle against bias.

Three experts on cyber security, digital forensics, networks and hardware were roped in by the Supreme Court to "enquire, investigate and determine" whether Pegasus spyware was used for snooping on citizens and their probe would be monitored by former apex court judge R V Raveendran.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)