Comments
In an important ruling,the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Jammu and Kashmir authorities to review all restrictiveorders in the region, including the restrictions on Internet access.
The verdict was inresponse to a bunch of pleas regarding the restrictions imposed in the regionfollowing the abrogation of Article 370, Huffington Post reported.
Access to Internet is afundamental right under Article 19, the court said, according to a report inthe Huffington Post.
Temporary suspension ofInternet and curtailing the basic freedom of citizens should not be arbitraryand is open to judicial review, the three-judge Bench led by Justice Ramanasaid, as quoted in The Hindu.
Restrictions on theInternet have to follow principles of proportionality under Article 19(2), thecourt said, according to the Huffington Post report.
The court has also askedthe authorities to restore all Internet services in important institutionsincluding hospitals and educational institutes, PTI reported.
Touching upon the topicof Section 144, the court said, “Power under Section 144 CrPC cannot be used asa curb on the legitimate expression of democratic rights,” as quoted by Bar& Bench.
Positive reactions fromnetizens across India have been pouring in over multiple social media platformsincluding Twitter with ‘internetshutdown’ and ‘Article 19’ trending on themicroblogging site minutes after the announcement.
Popular online platformFeminism in India tweeted,“As the Supreme Court reviews the legalities of the #InternetShutdown in Kashmir, it is important toremind ourselves of just how destructive this months-long blockade has been. #KashmirLockdown ”
“Very important whenbanning the internet has become the most frequently-used option to curbdissent. Applies to other states too. #SupremeCourt #JammuAndKashmir #internetshutdown ,” said a Twitter user.
The Centre imposedmultiple restrictions on Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.Internet shutdown had been imposed on the region from August 5, 2019, accordingto Huffington Post. The justification given for the ruling was to reducepotential violence in the region from terrorists and local militants.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.