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The Calcutta High Court has directed the state to respond in a plea challenging the government's decision to shut down internet services in seven districts of Bengal between March 7 and March 16. 

The government by a notification under Sec. 144 of CrPC had announced a complete internet shutdown in the districts of Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Birbhum, and Darjeeling citing information received of unlawful activities taking place.

The public interest litigation filed by a digital literacy fellow at Internet Freedom Foundation contends that such ban is contrary to the Supreme Court decision in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, where it was held that a shutdown cannot be announced under general powers under S. 144 CrPC.

The petitioner further contended that under the Telegraph Act and Telecom Suspension Rules, internet shut down can only be done for public emergency or public safety. 

The petitioner further submitted that the state has failed to properly publish such notification as is required under law. The petition also pointed out that no specific ground have been cited for such a decision as required under the 'principle of proportionality.'

The petitioner has further alluded that the notification comes dangerously close to Madhyamik examinations and that the state might have taken the decision to avoid mass cheating and leakage of exam papers. In such a case, the student themselves are being adversely affected as they need to attend classes and access study material off of the internet. 

On Wednesday, a bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed the state government to file an affidavit by tomorrow i.e. on March 10 at 10:30am.