Unsupported Claims Of ‘Public Interest’ Not Enough To Justify Statewide Internet Shutdown: Jharkhand HC Restrains State From Suspending Internet On Exam Dates

A Public Interest Litigation contested the suspension of mobile internet during the Jharkhand General Graduate Level Combined Competitive Examination, which took place on September 21 and 22. The state had justified the internet shutdown as a necessary measure to prevent cheating, question paper leaks, and other forms of malpractice associated with the exam.

Initially, on September 21, the Court had declined to stay the state's decision, noting that only mobile internet services were affected. However, following the state's announcement to also suspend broadband and other internet services, an urgent hearing was requested.

A Division Bench of Justice Ananda Sen and Justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary said, “It is made clear that till pendency of this writ petition, without the leave of this Court, no internet facility, in whatever form, will be suspended henceforth within the State of Jharkhand on the ground of conducting any examination.”

Petitioner Rajendra Krishna represented himself, while Additional Advocate General Sachin Kumar appeared for the respondents.

The Court condemned the state’s decision to extend the internet suspension as an overreach and described it as “a fraud played on this Court and a deceitful action.” The Court added, “This is a fraud played on this Court and is a deceitful action. The interim order passed by this Court reveals that the balance of convenience between the parties was taken into consideration, i.e., balance of convenience between the public at large and the concern of the State to conduct proper examination, but the balance itself has been disturbed by the fresh action of the State.”

The Court further said that the state’s move to shut down all internet services effectively nullified the judicial ruling made on Saturday, and could be viewed as a prima facie case of contempt of court. It added, “When we sat yesterday, i.e., Saturday (21.09.2024), and refused to grant interim order considering the overall situation, if at all there was any emergent situation, the parties including the State should have approached this Court for modification of the order. This direction by the State authority to shut down the entire service after the order dated 21.09.2024, in fact, nullifies and modifies the judicial order passed by this Court. This prima facie amounts to criminal contempt also.”

The Court ordered the immediate restoration of internet services, including broadband, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), and leased lines, stating that the government’s decision to suspend these services violated fundamental rights.

The Court added, “From the aforesaid noting, we do not find any material to suggest that what was the intelligence input to disrupt entire internet facility including shut down of Broadband, FTTH, and Leased line. Prima facie, we do not find any application of mind in the said noting. Merely putting the words and phrases, “public interest”, “adequate safety of students at large”, “ensuring fair examination” without any factual backing to arrive at the said conclusion is not sufficient to shut down the entire internet services, that too throughout the entire State, as it is now well established that shutting down of internet facility amounts to infringement of fundamental rights enshrined under Article 19 of the Constitution of India.”

The Court is scheduled to hear the case again on November 14. Additionally, it has directed telecom companies to present all communications and directives they received from the Jharkhand government regarding the internet suspension for the dates in question.

Cause Title: Rajendra Krishna v. The State of Jharkhand

Appearance:

Respondents: Additional Advocate General Sachin Kumar, Advocates Prabhat Kumar and Bharat Kumar.