Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Tuesday commenced his arguments on behalf of the centre in a batch of petitions filed by Kashmir Times Editor, Anuradha Bhasin and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, with respect to restrictions on communication and other issues in Jammu and Kashmir.
Supreme Court begins hearing a batch of petitions filed by Kashmir Times Editor, Anuradha Bhasin and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, with respect to restrictions on communication & other restrictions after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir. pic.twitter.com/VLmu547OAH
— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2019
The Supreme court raised questions on the internet accessibility in the valley, asking the Solicitor General: “Can the people there (in Jammu and Kashmir) access the internet, and since when?” Answering all the questions raised by the SC, Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that the restrictions over internet accessibility in the valley are minimal and people can visit the internet centres after getting passes.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Centre in Supreme Court on being asked by the Court can the people there (in Jammu and Kashmir) access internet, and since when?: Since August 7, they can visit internet centers after getting passes.
— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2019
Asserting that the centre has taken the “least restrictive measures keeping in view the inconvenience it may cause to people”, Mehta said that imposing such restrictions became imperative after the abrogation of special provisions of Article 370 since the spread of Jihad nowadays takes place on the internet.
“Unfortunately, internet jihadi is a successful one. It is a global phenomenon. The jihadi leaders can engage through the internet to spread hatred and illegal activities”, opined the Solicitor General.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in Supreme Court: The spread of Jihad nowadays takes place on the internet. Unfortunately, internet jihadi is a successful one. It is a global phenomenon. The jihadi leaders can engage through internet to spread hatred & illegal activities. https://t.co/Qgcjx2S4zk
— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2019
Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, commenced his submissions before a bench headed by Justice N. V. Ramana and justified certain restrictions imposed in the region after the abrogation of special provisions under Article 370 in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The SG cited before the SC that the Pakistan based terror groups use the internet to instigate the masses of Jammu and Kashmir to indulge in anti-India activities. He added, “Blocking Internet is justified to prevent such terror acts on the dark web. WhatsApp, Telegram and other apps can be used to spread messages.”
Mehta also stated that even the official social media handles of Pakistani government are being used to instigate the masses against India. He explained that the restrictions on the internet were necessary to thwart Pakistan’s misinformation war.
He furthered that blocking and monitoring individual apps and messaged will be an endless job and the government’s purpose of law and order maintenance gets defeated. Justifying the publication of newspapers being allowed, he added that newspapers are different from the Internet as they are one-sided communication.
He also added that internet restrictions have been lifted from many parts of Jammu and as the situation inches towards normalcy, internet services will be restored gradually.
“The imposition and restrictions were required as per the situation (in J&K). It is our duty to maintain the law and order. Preservation of public law and rule of law has to be maintained at any cost”, added Mehta.
Last week, during the hearing, a report by OpIndia was cited in the Supreme Court to debunk the lies of India Spend and other portals that had used the dubious claims to malign the government.
In August, the Central government scrapped Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two UTs, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Following this, phone lines and the internet were blocked in the region. Normalcy is gradually returning to Jammu and Kashmir as mobile and landline services have been restored in both UTs and restrictions under Section 144 on movement have been withdrawn or relaxed.
