Supreme Court agrees to hear plea against limited restoration of internet in Manipur on July 17

The Supreme Court on July 14 agreed to hear on July 17 the Manipur government’s plea against the State High Court order for limited restoration of the internet.

The Supreme Court on July 14 agreed to hear on July 17 the Manipur government’s plea against the State High Court order for limited restoration of the internet.

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The Manipur government, represented by advocate Kanu Agarwal, made an urgent mention of the State’s pending plea before Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had, while making a similar request on July 10 for an urgent hearing, had said the “situation in the State keeps changing very fast” and the High Court may be premature.

On July 7, the High Court had directed the State government to carry out physical trials to check the feasibility of providing internet service while ensuring security and property of citizens.

After hearing multiple PILs, a Division Bench of the High Court had said, “In the case of Fibre To The Home (FTTH) connections, internet service can be provided by the Home Department on a case to case basis” after ensuring compliance of the safeguards suggested by the committee.

The 12-member expert committee had informed the court that internet service could be provided through broadband connections, either through Internet Leased Line (ILL) or FTTH by ensuring “static IP, banning of Wi fi/Hotspots from any of the routers or system, blocking of social media websites and VPNs at the local level, removal of VPN software from the system and prohibiting installation of new software by any user and enforcing physical monitoring by the concerned authority/officials.”