Plea For 4G Net In J&K : Parties File Written Submissions [Read Written Submissions]

The Government of J&K has filed a note in the plea seeking for restoration of 4G mobile internet services in the Union Territory of J&K in light of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. The note places on record additional facts on behalf of the Respondent. Accordingly, the Petitioners have filed their responses to the same. On 29th April, the Government of J&K had filed its reply in the plea, averring that the contentions of the Petitioners regarding "alleged deprivation of access to education, health care facilities/updates" were incorrect as the administration was taking all possible steps to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. The Reply further opposed the lifting of the restrictions, stating that the internet could be used to propagate modern terrorism. On 4th May, the Supreme Court heard the arguments submitted by Senior Advocates Salman Khurshid and Huzefa Ahmadi on behalf of the Petitioners, Soayib Qureshi as petitioner-in-person and Attorney-General KK Venugopal and Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the Respondents, and reserved order. NOTE FILED BY GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR The Government of J&K has sought the liberty of the Court to place on record additional facts to highlight "how the medium of internet has been and still is being used in a minacious manner from across the border for inter alia, infiltration from across LOC, indoctrination/incitement of gullible youth and for destabilizing the country, putting the sovereignty and security of the State at stake". The Note purports to emphasize the submission that there has been an upswing of terrorist activities in the last few days, by specifically referring to the attacks on CRPF personnel who had set up nakas for control of COVID-19, as well as the encounter with terrorists in Handwara which led to the death of 5 officers. "Since 26th April, 2020, 11 instances have taken place in which 10 terrorists have been killed while 8 number of brave officers and jawan belonging to the security forces of our country have been martyred". The details of the terrorists' incidents have been annexed, with an "Assessment" stating that "a series of inputs have come from multiple quarters suggesting possibility of infiltration across LOC. The terrorist outfit TRF has floated online warnings to carry on a spurt of attacks on security forces as well as select non-combatant targets. Terrorists of HM have also floated a hit list of soft targets who they are planning to eliminate in coming days. The month of Ramazan has especially been favourite with terrorists to further their nefarious designs; the anniversary of battle of Badr falling on May 11." It has also been averred in the Note that in the recent month, there has been "a bulge in radical content and terror activities, and there are apprehensions of increase in terror recruitment" with a newly launched terrorist organization by the name of The Resistance Front (TRF) flooding social media with videos in order to incite the youth/general public and to attain support from across the border. The Note concludes with a reference to an article published on 27th April by The Print, which is based upon Green Book 2020 which is published by the Pakistan Army and features essays by serving officers. It is contended in the Note that the Green Book calls for "information warfare on Kashmir, taking the war into non-kinetic domains information/cyber warfare and Electronic Warfare (EW)". RESPONSE ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER IN THE MATTER OF FOUNDATION FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS v. UNION TERRITORY OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR & ANR. At the outset, the Response, filed by Advocate-on-Record Shadan Farasat and the legal team at Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), states that the Apex Court had orally rejected the request of the Respondent to file written submissions, and despite the express refusal, the Respondent has filed the Note placing additional facts before the Court, that too without an application to file additional materials or an Affidavit. It is further submitted that the Note fails to take into contention that the restrictions placed on the internet services violates the following rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir: 1. Right to Health under Article 21 due to the inability of the people and doctors to access medical information. 2. Right to Education under Article 21A read with Article 14 due to inability of children to access information and attend online education classes. 3. Right to an Occupation/Profession and Right to Livelihood under Article 19(1)(g) and Article 21 due to inability of citizens to work from home. 4. Right to Access Information and Videos by journalists in real time, which is a violation of Article 19(1)(a). 5. Additionally, the inability of citizens to download the Aarogya Setu App, if they desire, and their inability to connect with their friends and family through video calls and access all forms of information and recreation. The...

Plea For 4G Net In J&K : Parties File Written Submissions [Read Written Submissions]

Radhika Roy

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