New Delhi: A sensational media report emerged late Wednesday, claiming that a Rajasthan mobile number formerly registered in the name of Justice Arun Mishra, who retired from the Supreme Court in September 2020, was part of the Pegasus surveillance database. The Wire reported that the numbers of two officers from the Supreme Court Registry were also a part of the list.
The Pegasus Project, a collaborative effort on the part of various publications around the world, had verified around 300 Indian numbers on the database. The Wire is one of the publications. Justice Mishra was quoted by the publication as saying that the number was not with him since 2013-14 and that he was not using it.
Justice Mishra is currently the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission. The Supreme Court Registry officials NK Gandhi and TI Rajput also feature on the list reported by The Wire. Among the Indian lawyers to feature on the list are Advocates Aljo Joseph and Vijay Aggarwal, who represented AgustaWestland accused Christian Michel and PNB scam accused Nirav Modi respectively.
