Supreme Court to hear Manipur govt's plea against internet restoration on July 11

The Supreme Court has decided to hear a petition from the Manipur government challenging the High Court’s decision to partially restore the internet in the State on July 11.

The matter will be heard on Tuesday, according to a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha.

On Monday, the issue was brought up for an urgent hearing by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is representing the Manipur government.

“This is concerning the internet shutdown in Manipur. The situation in the State keeps changing very fast. The appeal is against the High Court order where it has directed restoration of internet service,” Mehta said.

The Manipur High Court recently requested that the State’s home department explore permitting broadband connectivity through “Fibre to the Home” (FTTH) for household usage as well as allowing internet access through “Internet Leased Lines” (ILL) for companies and offices on a case-by-case basis.

For the purpose of allowing internet connection to cellphone numbers that have been validated and approved by the home department, the Manipur High Court has mandated physical trials.

However, this shouldn’t happen until all parties have followed the safety precautions advised by the 12-member expert group that the Manipur government has created.

The committee suggested that only a select group of “whitelisted” mobile numbers, which would be specifically designated and provided by the home department, could receive internet services from all service providers in the state.

The service providers guaranteed that only the whitelisted numbers would have access to the internet, with no chance of leakage or usage by anybody other than the approved user.

Based on these suggestions, the High Court mandated that physical trials be carried out by the Manipur government to determine whether it is feasible to offer internet access to the whitelisted mobile phones while maintaining the security of Manipur and the safety of its residents and their possessions.

While hearing numerous PILs requesting the reinstatement of internet services in the state, the division bench of the Manipur High Court issued the ruling.

Since the state’s ethnic violence erupted on May 3, internet services have been suspended in Manipur.

(With agency inputs)