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Beating around the bush: Supreme Court on Centre’s denial on detailed affidavit in Pegasus row

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Supreme-Court

 After the Centre’s denial to file a detailed affidavit clarifying whether Pegasus spyware was used or not, the Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on a batch of petitions seeking independent probe into the alleged Pegasus snooping case.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said the court will pass an interim order in the next few days and told the Centre that beating around the bush would not take the issue anywhere.

“Beating around the bush…we will pass some interim order,” the chief justice told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre.

The Centre informed the bench that it is not going to file a detailed affidavit, after taking time twice to take a decision, whether it will file an affidavit or not on a batch of petitions seeking inquiry into alleged use of spyware Pegasus.

Mehta submitted that government can constitute technical committee of independent domain experts, who can examine the petitioners’ allegations that their phones were affected by Pegasus. Centre said this committee can submit its report to the top court.

The top court pointed at the response of former Minister for Electronics and Information Technology in Parliament in 2019. However, Mehta highlighted a recent statement made by Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology of India on the floor of the Parliament clarifying the government’s stand.

A battery of senior advocates — Kapil Sibal, Rakesh Dwivedi, Dinesh Dwivedi, Shyam Divan and Meenakshi Arora –representing various petitioners objected to the Centre’s stand on the matter.

Sibal, representing veteran journalist N. Ram, said the government should clarify whether it used Pegasus or not? Sibal added that it is unbelievable that the government said it would not tell the court about the use of spyware.

“We thought government will file a counter affidavit. We are considering some interim order or some other order, we have to pass,” the bench noted during the hearing.

Divan contended that a detailed affidavit should be filed at the level of cabinet secretary. He further added that the government should be concerned if an external agency used the spyware and if it were a government agency, then it was absolutely unconstitutional.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi questioned the credibility of the expert panel formed by the government to examine the issue.

Mehta submitted, “Nobody is denying or disputing. There are sensitive issues involved. We must get to the core issue. Let the expert panel go into it.”

The Chief Justice clarified that the court is also not keen on government disclosing any information which compromises the national security. The bench noted that if government were to file an affidavit, then it would have known “where do we stand on the subject”.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said a retired or sitting judge of the Supreme Court should head the probe, and the government, which is a wrongdoer, cannot be relied upon with the investigation.

Maharashtra

Byculla Redevelopment Site Accident Claims Two Lives

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Mumbai: A tragic incident occurred on saturday afternoon at the proposed redevelopment site of Habib Mansion in Byculla (West). During piling work, the ground suddenly caved in, resulting in the death of two labourers on the spot.

Two to three other workers suffered serious injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital. The accident took place at the Sundar Galli stretch between Haines Road and Tank Pakhadi Road, where redevelopment work is being undertaken by Ibrahim Jusab Sopariwala & Others. The project is linked to architects A2 Associates and Rajpurkar Associates, with ZZ Consultants reported as the structural advisors.

Local residents claimed that adequate safety measures were missing at the worksite, raising concerns about negligence. Police and BMC officials have cordoned off the area and launched an investigation.

Authorities said a detailed probe will determine whether safety protocols were violated during the redevelopment work.

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Maharashtra

NCB seizes city drugs, sets them on fire

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Zonal Unit of the Mumbai Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has disposed of about 1835 kg of Mephedrone along with 341 kg of other substances which were seized from various places in Maharashtra and Delhi. 16 persons were arrested in this case. A thorough investigation into the massive drug seizure led to the arrest of several persons including foreigners from various places, resulting in the elimination of close associates of the drug peddlers with international links.

As per the guidelines prescribed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, a high-level Drug Disposal Committee was constituted comprising Deputy Director General (SWR) of NCB, Additional Director, NCB Mumbai Zonal Unit and Additional Commissioner of Pune Police. The case was reviewed and it was selected to dispose of the drug hoard. Accordingly, all legal conditions were complied with after which the seized drugs along with other chemicals were finally destroyed by incineration in the presence of HLDCC on 14th November 2025 at Maple, Ranjangaon, Pune, Maharashtra.

This significant seizure of drugs followed by disposal of the sub-judices, indicates the continuous efforts of NCB in dismantling organised drug syndicates and targeting drug offenders who pollute the drug ecosystem. The Bureau is steadfast in its mission to protect public health and uphold the vision of “Nisha Mukt Bharat” by 2047.

NCB is firmly committed to ensuring a drug-free society under the guidance of which it has curbed drug trafficking, broken financial nexus and curbed inter-state and international drug syndicates.
Citizens are urged to play their role by reporting any information related to drugs through the MANS – National Narcotics Helpline (Toll Free Number: 1933). The identity of the informants is kept strictly confidential.

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Maharashtra

Three men accused of robbing a youth have been arrested The main accused was apprehended in Titwala.

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Mumbai: A young man returning home on a motorcycle in the Asalpha area of ​​Ghatkopar was attacked and forcibly robbed by three men who brandished a chopper. A case was registered at the Ghatkopar police station under sections 309(4), 3(5) of the Indian Penal Code, sections 4, 25 of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 37(1) and 135 of the Indian Penal Code.

The complainant, Suraj Mahadev Dethe (24), and his friend, Yash Kamble, were passing near the Home Guard Training Center at approximately 1:30 a.m. on November 12th when three unidentified individuals in a three-wheeled tempo stopped them. The accused, using the chopper as a pointer, assaulted them, abused them, and stole their Honda Dio scooter and mobile phone.

As soon as the case was registered, the Assistant Commissioner of Police and Senior Police Inspector of the Ghatkopar Division inspected the scene. Based on technical and traditional investigations, the accused identified Hussain Aslam Memon, alias Genda. Upon receiving information that he was hiding in the Titwala area, the police apprehended him. During interrogation, he revealed the names of his accomplices – Munna Ramvilas Sharma and Dilshaduddin Sitabuddin Shaikh – who were subsequently arrested.

On November 13, the three accused were produced in court, where they were remanded to police custody until November 17. The investigation also revealed that Genda is a notorious criminal with more than 13 cases registered against him in various police stations.

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