Apar GuptaViewed forensically, the statements in Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s press conference reveal a lack of good faith in investigating the invasion of personal privacy and democratic functioning of Opposition parliamentarians
Archives for the tag Surveillance
How ‘Digital India’ Has Transformed the Landscape of Policing and Criminal Justice in Delhi
The 37th Dr. Ramanadham Memorial Meeting, organised by the PUDR, has brought us all together this evening. It is a pleasure to be in the company of Jinee Lokaneeta, whose book Truth Machines delves into the intersection of science, criminal investigation, and state violence.
Slowing justice, the committee way
The Pegasus case frames CJI Ramana’s legacy: Great expectations only to be met with greater disappointment.
Pushback on Pegasus
The Supreme Court of India has appointed a committee presided by Justice (Retd.) R V Raveendran to inquire into the Pegasus revelations.
The judgment comes at a time when the principal author of the judgment and the Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, has noted, in the context of institutional independence, that when there is “a lot of discussion about the pressure from the executive, it is also imperative to start a discourse as to how social media trends can affect institutions.”
Here is a tacit acknowledgement of a general environment in which public trust is lacking in the judiciary. In this backdrop, the order of the court constituting the committee attains significance for three clear reasons.
Surveillance State
Last week, the Delhi government celebrated an act of mass surveillance, issuing a self-congratulatory press release, as reported in ‘Delhi ahead of NY, London in terms of CCTV cameras installed per sq. mile’ (IE, August 26). The press release marks the CCTV installation as a competitive metric based on a study by the consumer research website Comparitech. It notes that Delhi has 1,826 CCTVs per square mile, ranking it above 150 global cities. This statistic and the press release are symbolic of the populist messaging that comes at the cost of accountable governance.