The lawyer for Foundation for Media Professionals has pointed out that the Supreme Court has not listed for hearing a contempt petition against Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir 4G internet shutdown even a month after its filing.
Mr. Bhalla and Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory B.V.R. Subrahmanyam are respondents in the contempt petition. The petition accuses them of “wilful disobedience” of a May 11 apex court direction to “immediately” establish a special committee to determine the necessity of continuing “blanket restrictions” on 4G internet access in Jammu and Kashmir, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Despite filing of the petition more than a month back, and despite multiple mentionings through e-mail, the matter has not been listed and that no explanation has been offered by the Registry for not listing the matter for so long,” advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the Foundation, said.
Filed on June 8
The contempt petition and an application for directions was filed on June 8 and registered ready for judicial hearing on June 13. However, the case has not come up before a Bench despite separate mentionings made for urgent hearing.
On May 11, the Supreme Court, acting on a petition filed by the Foundation for Media Professionals, had directed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir to constitute a special committee with the Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs as chairperson followed by the Secretary, Department of Communications, Union Ministry of Communications, and the Chief Secretary, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
No record
In the contempt petition, the Foundation said there was no record in the public domain about the formation of a special committee “to consider the necessity and proportionality of the ongoing blanket mobile internet speed restrictions in the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir” as the court had directed.
In fact, the Foundation said, the Jammu and Kashmir authorities had issued a new order on the very evening of the May 11 judgment, directing internet service providers to continue a blanket restriction on mobile internet speed to 2G for the whole of Jammu and Kashmir. A representation to explain the order and seeking information about whether the special committee was formed or consulted prior to this order had got no reply.
Blanket curbs
The petition said the authorities had extended the blanket restrictions on mobile internet speeds on May 27 citing terror incidents in the Valley — proving that internet cuts really do not achieve the government’s desired aim. A second representation from the Foundation to the authorities on the existence and role of the special committee was also met with stony silence.
The Foundation said there was no sign of whether the government had complied with the court direction.
“There is no information available in the public domain about whether the constitution of the special committee has been notified; whether it has conducted any meetings; or passed any orders since it was directed to be established through this court’s judgment on May 11 ... Such a lax attitude, especially during a health pandemic and humanitarian crisis, violates both the letter and the spirit of this court’s judgments which took judicial notice of the concerns relating to the ongoing pandemic and the hardships that may be faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the petition said.
