Old number of former Supreme Court judge Justice Arun Mishra, numbers of two SC Registry officers feature in Pegasus snooping list

The Wire has reported 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..It has also been reported that the numbers of two officers from the Supreme Court Registry were entered in 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, which is one of the publications, had earlier hinted at the presence of a number associated with a sitting Supreme Court judge on the Pegasus list..After speaking to Justice Mishra, the publication confirmed that a Rajasthan mobile number formerly registered in his name, was added to the list..The Wire, as part of its verification process, asked the retired judge if he had continued to use WhatsApp or other messaging apps on his phone even after giving up the number. “The number +9194XXXXXXX is not with me since 2013-2014. I don’t use this number,” he replied..Justice Mishra, who is now Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, subsequently clarified that he had surrendered the number on April 21, 2014. At the time, he was Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. He had served as Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court from 2010 to 2012..Supreme Court Registry officials NK Gandhi and TI Rajput also feature on the list. The Wire story states that in the absence of forensic examination of the smartphones Gandhi and Rajput used at the time, it is impossible to establish if they remained mere persons of interest or were actually subjected to intrusive surveillance..Among the Indian lawyers to feature on the list are Advocates Aljo Joseph and Vjiay Aggarwal, who represented AgustaWestland accused Christian Michel and PNB scam accused Nirav Modi respectively..Telephone numbers of Christian Michel's lawyer Aljo Joseph, Nirav Modi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal in Pegasus surveillance probables.The number of M Thangathurai, a junior of former Attorney General for India Mukul Rohatgi, also features on the list.