India’s top court probes spying charges against government

By ASHOK SHARMA
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court has established a committee of experts to probe accusations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government used Israeli military-grade spyware to monitor political opponents, journalists and activists. The Supreme Court order came in response to petitions filed by a group of Indian journalists, rights activists and opposition politicians following an investigation by a global media consortium in July. The Modi government has “unequivocally” denied all allegations. But the government in an affidavit did not say whether it used the Israeli company spyware, citing security concerns. The Israeli company has said it only sells to “vetted government agencies” for use against terrorists and major criminals, and has no visibility into its customers’ data.