The High Court has issued a show-cause order to a number of government agencies for failing to examine the probable deployment of the notorious Pegasus spyware in Bangladesh.
Four defendants, including Digital Security Agency, secretaries of Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, have been asked to respond to the rule.
The bench comprising Justice Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Kamrul Hossain Mollah issued the rule on the preliminary hearing of a writ petition on Sunday.
Barrister Imran Siddique appeared for the writ petition. He was assisted by Barrister Sabit Ahmed Khan.
Earlier on September 5, a legal notice was sent to those concerned to take action in this regard.
Later, four lawyers of the Supreme Court filed a writ petition in the High Court, attaching a report published in the media, as they did not receive a reply to the notice. The petitioners are -- Mujahidul Islam, Abdul Alim, Saeed Md Raihan Uddin and Md Moniruzzaman.
According to the writ petition, Pegasus is a spyware created by the Israeli cyberarms firm NSO Group, which is secretly attached to most newer versions of mobile phones iOS and Android and installed for espionage.
As a result, the privacy of every citizen of the country is under threat. People of all professions in Bangladesh are being monitored and everyone's privacy is ruined, added the petition.
