The Delhi High Court has agreed to urgently hear on Friday a petition against the government’s decision of imposing an internet shutdown within 1.5 km of Jantar Mantar. The matter has been listed before the bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia.
This comes a day after mobile internet services were suspended in parts of central Delhi till midnight in the 1.5 km radius of Jantar Mantar. Internet curbs in parts of the city, particularly in and around the Jantar Mantar where the Cockroach Janta Party is staging a protest, have added to the difficulties of residents and commuters.
On Thursday, internet shutdown was imposed following a scuffle between some protesters at around 8.15-8.30 om after an argument. Some of them allegedly pelted stones at the police, hitting at least one official, and moved towards the police barricades. The cops then began a lathi-charge to control the crowds and fired tear gas.
Minutes later, an HT reporter at the spot received an internet shutdown text from the service provider. “The government asked telecom service providers to shut down the internet in the central Delhi area. Barring order received for 1.5 km surrounding Jantar Mantar from 6 pm to tomorrow 6 am,” two people in the industry aware of the matter said.
Internet shutdown during protest march
Mobile internet services were also suspended by the union government during CJP’s protest march to Parliament on July 20 (Monday), This affected parts of central Delhi, including the Jantar Mantar area, till 6pm, as thousands had gathered for the march.
This order was sent to telecom service providers (TSPs) such as Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, people familiar with the matter said. Two major TSPs confirmed that they had received official directions to suspend services. There was, however, no confirmation of the government department that issued the formal orders.
Protesters complained about the disruption in internet services in parts of central Delhi as early as 10 am, and several users received messages informing them of the disruption. The text read, “As per government instructions, Internet services have been stopped in your area till further notice. REGINF.”
