The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition by the non-profit organisation Foundation for Media Professionals seeking enforcement of the guidelines on internet shutdown issued by a bench in 2020, reported Live Law.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Dipankar Dutta and Aravind Kumar was hearing a miscellaneous application filed through advocate-on-record Prateek K Chadha in the Anuradha Bhasin case.
In the Anuradha Bhasin judgement, the Supreme Court had said that governments should publish all orders of prohibition on the internet so that those affected could challenge them. The court held that the Indian law did not permit the indefinite suspension of internet services, and that orders to shut down the internet were subject to judicial review.
In its application, the foundation was seeking directions from the court to the competent authorities to proactively publish all orders issued for imposing restrictions on the internet. It also urged the court to order the authorities to entertain Right to Information requests seeking necessary information regarding internet shutdown orders.
While dismissing the application, the bench said that the restrictions on the internet are imposed depending on the situation prevailing in the states.
The court also questioned the filing of the application in a matter that has already been disposed of. “At the most, you can ask for a review,” Justice Kumar told Senior Advocate Nakul Dewan, appearing for the applicant.
Dewan pointed out that the top court had issued a notice in the application in May.
“Merely because we have committed an error by issuing notice...” Justice Gavai said.
In 2019, Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin moved the Supreme Court to challenge the indefinite internet suspension that was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir since August 2019, when its special status under the Constitution of India was abrogated.
The Supreme Court did not revoke the internet shutdown in Kashmir but held that any order suspending the internet under the suspension rules is subject to judicial review.
However, according to the foundation, multiple state governments, including Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, have imposed internet shutdowns without proactively publishing the orders behind these restrictions.
The application also alleged that the authorities have refused to reveal information in response to Right to Information requests filed by civil society groups.
Also read: Open violation of SC guidelines, silent judiciary: Why India leads the world in internet shutdowns
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