Yesterday, in the matter of Chhaya Rani Sharma v. UoI And Ors. , the Supreme Court of India dismissed a petition, seeking to provide guidelines to prevent internet shutdowns in the state of Rajasthan. The bench of  CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala directed the Petitioner to approach Rajasthan High Court.

The Court held that the petitioner had the remedy to approach the High Court under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution, which was the appropriate forum to deal with the issue.

Petitioner, practising Adv, Chhaya Rani, of Rajasthan High Court requested Hon'ble Court to hold the state of Rajasthan in contempt of the Anuradha Bhasin principles regarding the imposition of restrictions on the internet in a proportionate manner.

The petitioner had claimed that this practice flies in the face of the decision in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, in which the apex court not only laid down procedural rules for internet shutdowns but also supplemented them with the requirement of timely reviews and non-permanence of shutdown orders.

In September 2022, the Supreme Court sought the Central government's response in a plea challenging internet shutdowns to prevent cheating in exams.

Further, the petitioner submitted that shutdowns by various states were arbitrary and unlawful, and caused massive economic losses. He also added that the Right to internet access is part of the Right to Information the and Right to Health.

 In this matter, the Petitioner said –

"The restriction on such a right by the Respondents in the form of imposing internet shutdowns affects the ability of citizens to access information related to COVID-19 and affects the ability of health personnel to disseminate the information."

ANURADHA BHASIN CASE:

 In this case, the Supreme Court of India held that “internet shutdowns can be resorted to only as a drastic measure, to be adopted in exceptional circumstances.”

 Supreme Court further held that various procedures should be followed by the government before the shutdown the Internet Services

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