The Jharkhand High Court today sought a reply from the State government on its policy to ban Internet in the State after the same was done across Jharkhand for more than five hours on Saturday.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation against the shutdown of Internet services in Jharkhand due to the JSSC CGL examination the bench of High Court judges Justice Anand Sen and Justice Anudha Rawat Chaudhary asked the government what is the policy for shutting down the Internet.
The court asked whether the Internet would be shut down in this manner during all examinations. The court also directed the State government to file a reply in this matter through an affidavit within four weeks.
State Bar Council Chairman Rajendra Krishna arguing for the petitioner said that due to the shutdown of Internet services, many jobs are being affected and it is directly affecting the work of the people.
Jharkhand Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, arguing on behalf of the government said that ‘only mobile Internet has been shut down as a precaution so that there is no disturbance in the examination. The rest of the internet services are running as before.’
The special bench of the High Court refused to restore Internet service and said that the State government has the right under Information Technology Act 69 A.
After repeated cases of paper leak the State administration has taken the steps to ensure a fair (JSSC-CGL) examination on 21 and 22 September. As per the Home Department’s order Internet services will be suspended in the state from 8 am to 1:30 pm on 21 and 22 September.
Earlier some anti-social elements had leaked the paper using mobile applications dependent on the internet and Wi-Fi. They had also spread false rumours.
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