The Division bench comprising of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Vivek Verma has registered a suo moto Public Interest Litigation on the issue of internet shut downs in Uttar Pradesh. The bench directed the registry on Dec 20 to register the PIL in the name “Reference to the discontinuation of the internet services by the State Authorities”.
The PIL was registered after a group of lawyers pointed out the problems that was faced by the lawyers and the public at large due to the internet shutdowns. It was pointed out by the lawyers that the internet shutdown affected the judicial system, as the publication and distribution of cause lists, uploading and downloading of orders and several other internet-based activities were hindered.
It was also pointed out by the lawyers that, “The right of continuous internet services in the present era is an extension of the right to live and, as such, discrimination of that is in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India”
It was also stated by the lawyers that the internet shutdown also affected other activities like, banking activities, administrative activities, educational activities, medical activities and even the traffic movement was also slowed down.
Internet was suspended in several part of Uttar Pradesh following the prohibitory orders that were passed under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure.
-India Legal Bureau