The institution set up for a judicial probe by the West Bengal government into allegations of surveillance using advanced spyware on potential Indian targets marks a significant political and legal pushback against the Union government’s attempts to deny the global media revelations and diminish the potent threat such practices pose to democracy. Given Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s penchant for the dramatic and her endless run-ins with the Centre, it may be easy to dismiss the act of a State government ordering an inquiry into what could be a large-scale intelligence-gathering programme of a state actor as mere political chutzpah. However, in the context of the Centre and the ruling BJP’s aggressive refusal to cede any ground on the growing demand for a credible probe into the use and misuse of Pegasus spyware, the West Bengal inquiry acquires both legal and political salience. The Union government claims that illegal surveillance is not possible in India and has not specifically admitted or denied the use of Pegasus, the spyware supplied by Israel’s NSO Group. Banerjee has rightly invoked the possible grave implications for democracy, public order, the independence of the judiciary and the autonomy of legislators while ordering an inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act. Media reports suggest that those likely targeted included Prashant Kishor, the TMC strategist during the recent Assembly polls, and Abhishek Banerjee, Banerjee’s nephew. Regardless of which agency or government was behind it, there are grounds to believe that part of the surveillance covered the State government’s territory, bringing into play its legitimate right to order an investigation. Ideally, the Centre itself should order a wide-ranging judicial inquiry into the Pegasus scandal so that the nation has an opportunity to know the truth.