privilege

At least three Indian lawyers’ smartphones have allegedly been hacked since May 2019 with elite cyber-weapons sold to various governments and security services by Israeli company NSO Group, which has been sued by Facebook this week in a California court over NSO-connected hacking campaigns allegedly exploiting WhatsApp vulnerabilities against 1,400 activists gl(of whom at least 19 are based in India).

After an unnamed Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) source had told the Times of India in April that the agency might file a case against Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) over Nirav Modi files it had held, Reuters has today run a follow-up scoop that has been widely picked up by nearly all Indian media.

According to a frontpage exclusive in the Times of India this morning, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is “exploring the option of naming a top law firm either as a conspirator, or registering a fresh case - for possession of stolen property - after investigating officers found official documents belonging to the bank on its premises”.

In a Mumbai special court application to keep Nirav Modi company authorised signatories Kharat and Hemant Bhatt under extended judicial custody, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has relied on letters of undertaking (LOU), some of which it had obtained from the “Advocate’s firm of Nirav Modi Group” - a clear nod to Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) - reported the Economic Times.

The Hindu newspaper yesterday successfully persuaded the Supreme Court bench comprising of justices JS Khehar and Arun Mishra to change its mind in an ongoing litigation over a breach of privilege notice issued to its editor, Mukund Padmanabhan, by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.