Press "Enter" to skip to content

J&K internet ban: Centre agrees to 4G access on a trial basis in limited areas

J&K
The Centre said a committee has decided to provide 4G internet access on a trial basis in limited areas of the union territory after August 15.
Image for representation: PTI
The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that a special committee looking into the issue of internet restoration in Jammu and Kashmir has decided to provide 4G internet access on a trial basis in limited areas of the union territory after August 15.
A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana was told by Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, that the committee has decided that trial will be done in one district each in Jammu and Kashmir division.
He said that the Committee has decided that access to 4G internet in J-K will be given in a calibrated manner and outcome of the trial will be reviewed after two months.
The bench also comprising Justices R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai said this is a fairly good stand on the part of the respondents (Centre and J-K administration).
High speed internet service in J-K was suspended in August last year when the Centre announced revocation of its special status and bifurcation of the state into two UTs — Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. 
On August 7, the top court had asked the J-K administration to explore the possibility of restoring 4G services in certain areas of the Union Territory.
The apex court was hearing a plea of the NGO seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the Union Home Secretary and Chief Secretary of J-K for their alleged “wilful disobedience” in complying with the court’s May 11 order.
On July 16, the Centre and J-K administration had told the top court that a special committee has been set up as per the court’s directive to consider the issue of restoration of 4G Internet services in the Union Territory.
Venugopal, while claiming that incidents of terrorism are on the rise there, had told the court that no contempt was made out against the authorities as they have complied with the directives of the apex court.
On May 11, the top court had ordered the setting up of a “special committee” headed by the Union Home Secretary to consider pleas for restoration of 4G internet services in J-K, saying national security and human rights need to be balanced in view of the fact that the UT has been “plagued with militancy”.
Body 2: 

Source: TheNewsMinute.com