Yesterday, During a special hearing the Jharkhand High Court issued a temporary order preventing the government from suspending internet services in the state for the purpose of conducting any examinations. The court emphasized that any disruption of internet services would require prior permission from the court.

“It is made clear that till pendency of this writ petition, without the leave of this Court, no internet facility, in whatever form, will be suspended henceforth within the State of Jharkhand on the ground of conducting any examination.”, the Court ordered.

A division bench consisting of Justices Ananda Sen and Anubha Rawat Choudhary was hearing a plea that contested the partial disablement of mobile internet from September 21 to 22. Subsequently, the shutdown was expanded to include the entire internet facility, encompassing broadband connectivity as well.

The court reviewed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in which the petitioners expressed concerns about a notification issued by the state government. They argued that instead of implementing a partial disablement of internet services, the government had suspended the entire internet facility.

The court's order was issued in response to a breach of the notification issued by the government on September 20, 2024, which had directed the suspension of only mobile data, mobile internet, and mobile Wi-Fi from 8:00 AM to 1:30 PM on September 21 and 22, 2024.

However, the state authorities, in supersession and modification of the earlier notification, have now suspended the entire internet facility, including broadband connectivity via fixed telecom lines, FTTH, and leased lines, across the entire state of Jharkhand.

On September 21, the court declined to grant interim relief to the petitioner, citing the assurance from the state's counsel and considering the balance of convenience between the parties. The court explained that the interim relief was not issued in the petitioner's favor because the internet facility was not entirely disabled; rather, only mobile internet had been partially disabled for a limited period.

However, following the court's September 21 order, the state suspended all internet services, including broadband. The court deemed this action by the state as an overreach, stating it undermined the court's previous order.

The Additional Advocate General for the state informed the court that the government decided to shut down the entire internet facility based on "intelligence input" received that night. However, the bench stated that it found no evidence to support the claim regarding the intelligence that warranted such a widespread disruption of internet services in the state.

"Merely putting the words and phrases, “public interest”, “adequate safety of students at large”, “ensuring fair examination” without any factual backing to arrive at the said conclusion is not sufficient to shut down the entire internet services, that too throughout the entire State, as it is now well established that shutting down of internet facility amounts to infringement of fundamental rights enshrined under Article 19 of the Constitution of India.", the court said

Case Title: Rajendra Krishna versus The State of Jharkhand