Pegasus Row: Not Against Debates But Matter Should Be Deliberated In Court, Says SC

Petitions on the Pegasus case have demanded that the Supreme Court order an inquiry. Last week, SC had said it would decide whether the notice would be issued only after hearing the Centre's reply.

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court today heard petitions filed in the Pegasus case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has sought some time to seek directions from the government. The court has fixed August 16 as the date for hearing the case. It has also asked parties to be disciplined and avoid debating such issues on social media and websites. The court said that it is not against debates but when the matter is in court, it should be deliberated here.

When the hearing started, the Chief Justice first asked if a copy of the petitions was handed over to the government. The Solicitor General said, "I have received copies of petitions except one (Yashwant Sinha). I'm going through the petitions. I need instructions from the government. Give me time till Friday." The CJI replied, "I would not be able to hear the matter on Friday. I will take a call on Monday When petitioners are before us, please keep the discussion here. Answer our questions in court. If you want to say anything on social media then it's different. We expect you not to participate in parallel debates. We ask questions, answer them in court. There must be discipline."

Kapil Sibal and the rest of the lawyers agreed. Kapil Sibal also referred to the California court's action. The Supreme Court will now hear the Pegasus case on Monday.

What happened at the last hearing

Petitions filed on Pegasus espionage have demanded that the Supreme Court order an inquiry into the espionage allegations. Last week the court had asked all the petitioners to submit their petitions to the central government. The court had clarified that it would decide whether to issue a formal notice on the matter only after hearing the Centre's reply. The court had also said that the allegations are serious but the petitions have been filed without any concrete evidence.