Pegasus row: SC to hear pleas for probe on April 22
New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear on April 22 pleas seeking a probe into the alleged unauthorised use of Pegasus spyware for surveillance of journalists among others.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh deferred the hearing after solicitor general Tushar Mehta, seeking an adjournment, said the matter had come up after a long time.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, said only two petitions were listed on Friday and there were other connected petitions, which required a hearing.
The bench directed the registry to fix all the matters on the issue on April 22.
On August 25, 2022, the top court said the technical panel appointed by it to probe the unauthorised use of Pegasus found some malware in five of 29 examined cellphones but it could not be held that the Israeli spyware was used.
After perusing the report submitted by former apex court Justice R V Raveendran, the top court said the Central government did not cooperate with the Pegasus probe.
The top court in 2021 ordered a probe into the allegations of the use of Israeli spyware by government agencies for targeted surveillance of politicians, journalists, and activists and appointed technical and supervisory committees to examine the matter.
The overseeing panel has submitted a "lengthy" three-part report, one of which suggested amending the law to protect citizens' right to privacy and ensure the nation's cyber security, it had said.
The technical panel, which included three experts on cyber security, digital forensics, networks, and hardware, was asked to "inquire, investigate and determine" whether Pegasus spyware was used for snooping on citizens and their probe would be monitored by Raveendran.
The panel members were Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Prabaharan P, and Ashwin Anil Gumaste.
Justice Raveendran, who headed the monitoring panel, was assisted by former IPS officer Alok Joshi and cyber security expert Sundeep Oberoi in monitoring the inquiry of the technical panel.
The apex court, in its order, had said the probe panel would be empowered to enquire and investigate what steps or actions were taken by the Centre after reports were published in 2019 on the hacking of WhatsApp accounts of Indian citizens using the Pegasus suite of spyware.
Also whether any Pegasus suite was acquired by the Union of India, or any state government, or any central or state agency for use against the citizens of India, it added.
An international media consortium had reported that over 300 verified Indian cellphone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using the Pegasus spyware.
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
