Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in Lok Sabha, on the Pegasus Project' media report.
The phone numbers of over 40 Indian journalists appear on a leaked list of potential targets for surveillance, and forensic tests have confirmed that some of them were successfully snooped upon by an unidentified agency using Pegasus spyware, The Wire, had reported.
Vaishnaw said, "When we look at this issue through the prism of logic, it clearly emerges that there is no substance, whatsoever, behind this sensationalism. Any form of illegal surveillance isn't possible with checks and balances in our laws and robust institutions.
"In India, there's a well-established procedure through which lawful interception of electronic communication is carried out for purpose of national security.
"Requests for lawful interceptions of electronic communication are made as per relevant rules under provisions of Sec 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 & Sec 69 of Information Technology Act 2000. Each case of interception is approved by the competent authority."
The Wire reports that the leaked data includes the numbers of top journalists at big media houses like the Hindustan Times, including executive editor Shishir Gupta, India Today, Network18, The Hindu and Indian Express, they report, adding that the presence of a phone number in the data does alone not reveal whether a device was infected with Pegasus or subject to an attempted hack. However, the Pegasus Project, a consortium of international news organisations, believes the data is indicative of potential targets identified in advance of possible surveillance attempts.