Connect with us
Friday,04-September-2026
Breaking News

General

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

Published

on

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

Five arrested for tampering with taxi and auto-rickshaw fare meters in Mumbai, cheating passengers financially and installing fake technical devices in the meters.

Published

on

Mumbai: On September 2, around 8 am, Police Constable Nilesh Salunke received information from his informant that many rickshaw and taxi drivers in Dahisar area were using a device in their meters to artificially increase the fares and were robbing passengers. The information was passed on to the seniors who confirmed the matter and ordered further action.

To verify this, on September 1, a fake passenger was sent for a journey in taxi number MH 01 CJ 6487. The taxi driver concerned had covered his fare meter. And due to his suspicious activities, the taxi driver was detained along with the taxi and after writing to the Regional Transport Department, Borivali Kandivali, Dahisar East Mumbai, the said taxi was examined by them and it was found that the electronic running circuit device in the taxi fare meter was illegally tampered with by connecting wires and through this, the common passengers were cheated by increasing the artificial fare. In this regard, when further investigation was done, it was installed in taxi number MH 01 CJ 6487 by Islam Nama Amin Ramzan Pathan, age 31 years, profession – Rickshaw Driver / Electrician. When he was taken into confidence and questioned, it was found that the electronic running circuit device in the fare meter in 04 more taxis / rickshaws was illegally tampered with by connecting wires. In this regard, a case has been registered at Dahisar Police Station under Section 1293/26, Section 318 (4) of the Indian Penal Code – 2023 and Sections 33, 35 and Section 145 (a) of the MV Act. Here near Gokul Anand Hotel, Ashok One, Dahisar East, Mumbai Taxi/Rickshaw seized for tampering with fare meter Maruti Suzuki Company black yellow taxi number MH01CJ6487 Bajaj Company black yellow rickshaw number MH02DU0777 Bajaj Company black yellow rickshaw number MH03BY4268 Maruti Suzuki Company black yellow taxi number MH02BQ7392, Maruti Artica Cool Cab MH-01-EM-604 Seized goods
(Used for tampering with fare meter) Electronic running circuit along with it of accused
1) Zaheb Altaf Deshmukh Age – 32 years
2) Amin Ramzan Pathan Age – 31 years
3) Riaz Abdul Ghani Sheikh Age – 45 years
4) Nazir Ibrahim Patel Age – 57 years
5) Anand Kumar Nanak Prasad Rai Age – 60 years Action taken against Along with this, the accused have been arrested and further investigation is underway.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

A boat developed a technical fault near the Gateway of India, following which the police safely rescued the boat and its passengers.

Published

on

Mumbai: Gateway of India Police safely rescued the sea boat and passengers. The sea ferry boat ‘Anwari’, which makes a half-hour sea trip from the Gateway of India, broke down in the sea at a distance of about 1.5 nautical miles, while returning to the Gateway at around 3:30 pm. A total of 38 people were on board the ship, including 34 passengers and 4 crew members. As soon as this information was received from the control room, Police Constable Abhijit Shinde and Police Naik Guru of Bat No. 01 immediately understood the seriousness of the situation and started inquiring about other boats in the vicinity. They came to know that the ferry boat ‘Azad Hind’ was near the stranded ship. After this, they contacted Junaid Mulla, the owner of ‘Azad Hind’, and arranged for ‘Azad Hind’ to be sent to the location of the disabled boat. ‘Azad Hind’ arrived immediately, towed ‘Anwari’ back and brought it safely to Jetty No. 2 at Gateway of India. All 34 passengers and 4 crew members on board are safe. The passengers and the boat were rescued due to the presence of mind and cooperation of the Mumbai Police constables, which is also being praised on social media. While the boat that was stuck in the sea was broken and unable to travel further, the police provided immediate assistance, due to which a major accident was averted.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

19-Year-Old Man Kills Wife, Ends Life Following Domestic Dispute in Agripada

Published

on

MUMBAI: A tragic incident unfolded in South Mumbai early Friday morning after a 19-year-old daily wage laborer allegedly murdered his 19-year-old wife before ending his own life near Kalapani Chowki in Agripada.

According to the Agripada Police, the incident occurred at around 5:00 AM. The accused, identified as Mohd. Ehsan Sheikh (19), got into an altercation with his wife, Jannat Ehsan Sheikh (19), following an ongoing domestic dispute. In a fit of rage, Sheikh slit Jannat’s throat with a kitchen knife, killing her on the spot.

Immediately after the assault, Sheikh turned the same weapon on himself and slit his own throat.
Local residents alerted the police, and Sheikh was rushed in critical condition to the nearby BYL Nair Hospital.

However, he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.
The Agripada Police have initiated legal proceedings in connection with the double tragedy. A case of murder is being registered against Mohd. Ehsan Sheikh, while an Accidental Death Report (ADR) is being filed regarding his death. Further investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dispute is currently underway.

Continue Reading

Trending