India / SC refuses to order restoration of 4G internet services in J&K

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, 11 May, directed the setting up of a special committee to examine the contentions made by the petitioners seeking the restoration of 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, “look into the prevailing circumstances and immediately determine the necessity of the continuation of the restrictions”.

The committee will be headed by the secretaries from the Centre’s Home Ministry and Ministry of Communications, as well as the chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir. The Home Secretary is to head it.

The apex court’s order notes that while it “might be desirable and convenient to have better internet in the present circumstances, wherein there is a worldwide pandemic and a national lockdown”, the fact that “outside forces are trying to infltrate the borders and destabilize the integrity of the nation, as well as cause incidents resulting in the death of innocent citizens and security forces every day cannot be ignored.”

National Security vs Proportionality

The Centre and the government of J&K had submitted to the court that since 5 August 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated, around 108 terror-related incidents had taken place in the Union Territory, with 30 civilian deaths and 114 civilian injuries, and the deaths and injuries of 20 and 54 (respectively) security personnel.

The judges held that this had be considered by the court, as did the fact that militancy had increased even further in recent times, with the J&K government submitting details of encounters and terrorist attacks in Kashmir from 26 April onwards, including the Hadnwara attack.

The judges also pointed to material from the J&K government that indicated ‘cyber terrorism’ is on the rise in the Valley, and that the Pakistan Military’s Green Book 2020 calls for information warfare relating to the region, following the abrogation of Article 370.

However, at the same time, the judges noted that the orders restricting mobile internet speed to 2G in J&K are blanket orders, and do not “provide any reasons to reflect that all the districts of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir require the imposition of such restrictions.”

In view of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Anuradha Bhasin judgment in January on internet restrictions in J&K, the judges held that “the authorities are required to pass orders with respect to only those areas where there is absolute necessity of such restrictions to be imposed, after satisfying the directions passed earlier.”