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The plea seeks restoration of 4G mobile internet services in the districts of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir citing how schools being shut down due to the abrogation of Article 370 and COVID-19, has caused a disadvantage to the students who cannot attend online school due to bad internet connectivity.
On Monday, a division bench of the Supreme Court issued notice in a plea filed against the order of the Home Department, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir whereby mobile internet speed has been reduced to 2G.
The plea alleged that the decision was taken even after the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift to online schooling, resulting in digital apartheid in access to education.
The petition sought to challenge Order No. Home-134 (TSTS) of 2020 dated December 11, 2020, issued by the Home Department and any further similar orders, inter alia, restricting internet speed for mobile data services to 2G in 18 out of 20 districts of Jammu & Kashmir for being violative of Articles 14, 19, 21, and 21A of the Constitution of India.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and BV Nagarathna has issued notice, returnable within four weeks.
The plea filed by Private Schools Association J&K, an organisation representing the interests of over 3800 member schools in Jammu & Kashmir, submitted that while it is aware of and conscious about the challenges caused by militancy in the region"given the grave impact that internet slowdowns have on the future of students and other ordinary citizens in the region, terrorism cannot become a ground to indefinitely restrict the internet especially without a formal state of emergency being declared, and without considering the suitability and necessity of existing internet restrictions when compared to less restrictive alternatives."
The petition sought restoration of 4G mobile internet services in the Union Territory alleging that a plea before the top court was necessitated by grave and ongoing violation of the fundamental right to education of students in Jammu & Kashmir.
"The restriction on internet access in Jammu and Kashmir has developed an indefinite and permanent character – continuing for over 500 days, making it the longest internet shutdown in any democracy ever by far", the plea submitted.
Filed through AOR Shadan Farasat, the petition further submitted that such prolonged use of the extraordinary power to disrupt internet services for the entire population of a region is also violative of the Top Court’s judgment in Anuradha Bhasin vs. Union of India.
The time has come for the State to pursue alternatives that are mindful of the impact that internet speed restrictions have on law-abiding citizens of the region, the petition stated.
It further alleged that during the COVID-19 pandemic, students in Jammu & Kashmir were unable to continue their education through video conferencing tools such as Google Classrooms or Zoom because these services do not work or work inadequately at 2G speeds.
It contented that students in Jammu & Kashmir are already at a disadvantage due to prolonged school closures after the abrogation of Article 370 and they are deeply anguished by the prospect of being left behind while students in other parts of the country continue their education.
Case Title: Private Schools Association J&K vs. Home Department and Ors
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