Pegasus- Supreme Court Hearing-LIVE UPDATES

CJI: For what purpose you are citing these judgments?

Dwivedi: To show that this has a chilling effect on free speech.

Solicitor General: I am not disputing that.

Dwivedi refers to paragraphs in Puttaswamy case, Rajagopal case etc.

Dwivedi: The question of chilling effect on speech is arising loud and clear in this case.

Dwivedi: It is only the state or state agencies which get the license to use this. Petitioner is a journalist. If there is snooping, a journalists' right to speech and expression gets affected and not just the right to privacy.

Dwivedi refers to the NSO statement that they have given services only to sovereign states.

Dwivedi is appearing for journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who says his phone has been targeted by the malware.

Dwivedi: I am a journalist whose phone has been snooped upon. This fact has not been denied specifically.

Dwivedi says that the statements in the Govt affidavit are contradictory. In one place they say that the allegations are baseless but in other place they say allegations are serious and so they are constituting a committee, he argues.

Dwivedi refers to Rule 5 Order 8 CPC to state that facts which are not denied specifically must be construed to have been admitted.

Dwivedi refers to Order 8 Rule 3 of CPC which says that a denial by a defendant must be specific and denial should not be general.

Rule 4 says denial should not be evasive.