Manipur internet shutdown: Supreme Court to hear plea challenging High Court verdict ordering partial restoration
The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will hear by today itself a petition challenging the July 7 order of the Manipur High Court, which directed the state government to restore internet partially in the violence-affected state.
The Bench of Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh and Justice Guneshwar Sharma of the High Court had directed the state government on Friday to lift the internet ban on Internet Lease Line (ILL) connections in the state after ensuring that all the stakeholders had complied with the safeguards suggested by an Expert Committee.
The order was passed on a bunch of public interest litigations (PILs) filed by various parties seeking the restoration of internet in the state.
The High Court further directed the state government to consider restoring Fibre To The Home (FTTH) connections on a case-by-case basis, provided that the safeguards put on record by the expert committee were complied with.
The Bench heard arguments from both sides as well as representatives from various service providers such as Reliance, Airtel, Jio, BSNL and Vodafone, along with officials from the Union of India and the state government.
Following earlier court directions in the matter, the government had constituted a 12-member Expert Committee to assess the feasibility of safely restoring the internet connectivity, while maintaining restrictions on social media.
Comprising members from various technical backgrounds, the Expert Committee presented its opinions and proposed solutions for restoration of limited internet service, while addressing the government’s concerns about security and public safety.
The government of Manipur had imposed an indefinite ban on internet services on May 3, following large-scale violence in the state due to clashes between the Meetei/Meitei community and the Kuki tribe.
The internet ban was imposed after the Manipur High Court asked the government to ‘consider’ inclusion of the Meetei/ Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list. This led to widespread clashes between tribal and non-tribal communities leading to loss of several lives and damage to property worth crores.
(Case title: Aribam Dhananjoy Sharma @ Paojel Chaoba & ors. VS State of Manipur)