Pegasus: SC emphasises ‘sacred private space of individual’

When Pegasus, the biggest of all Big Brothers, takes wing in judicial discourse like the mythical horse the spyware is named after, a nod to George Orwell is in order.

“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself,” Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana said at the start of the Pegasus ruling, quoting from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four.

The cautionary tale by the Bihar-born English novelist chronicles the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance and repressive regimentation of people and behaviours within society. The book also created Big Brother, the master of mass surveillance who never lets the citizens forget that “Big Brother is watching you”.