Internet Control

In September of 2022, the Supreme Court (SC) admitted a petition filed by Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), that challenged five Indian states — Rajasthan, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat — for shutting down the internet to prevent cheating during examinations. The petition argued that this practice of ordering internet shutdowns is an arbitrary exercise of the law, being a misinterpretation of the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017 (‘the Rules’) and shutdowns issued in this manner are unconstitutional, given the SC’s previous ruling that the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to carry on business using the medium of internet is constitutionally protected.

These orders are predominantly issued by offices of divisional commissioner or district magistrates in different cities/districts of Rajasthan, manifestly in contravention of the Rules, which specifies that such orders can only be issued by the secretary, ministry of home affairs, or secretary, home department of a state government. Interestingly enough, the bureaucratic machinery that enables these shutdowns, have also found two loopholes in the provisions of the Rules, to lend a veneer of legality to the process by which these shutdowns are ordered.

To know more about Internet Shutdowns, visit https://internetshutdowns.in/