Disruption@gov.in 

News: State government of Bengal has ordered an internet shutdown in a few districts for a week in order to curb cheating in the ongoing State board exams. 

How frequent are the internet shutdown in India? 

According to Access Now, a non-profit which advocates for digital civil rights, from about 155 global shutdowns it documented in the year 2020 109 were from India. 

What are its negative impacts? 

Internet is a commercial and social lifeline. The telecom industry estimated it loses Rs 2.4 crore an hour in every circle area where there’s a shutdown.

Apart from this, the losses incurred by other businesses that increasingly rely on the internet go unnoticed.  

What is the legislation that governs internet shutdowns in India? 

The umbrella legislation governing this area is Indian Telegraph Act.  

However, problem arises due to a new set of rules introduced by GoI in August 2017 to provide statutory cover for temporary suspension of telecom services. These rules identify public emergency and public safety as ground for imposing internet shutdowns.

As these terms don’t have any particular description they are many a times interpreted subjectively by the executive and may also lead to their misuse. 

What have been the Supreme court’s observation in the case of internet shutdowns? 

The shutdowns imposed by states are inconsistent with a relevant Supreme Court verdict.

In January 2020, the apex court said that the freedom to carry on trade over the internet enjoys constitutional protection under Article 19. Therefore, any restriction has to meet the test of proportionality.  

Source: This post is based on the article “Disruption@gov.in” published in The Times of India on 8th Mar 22.