Internet ban: Manipur High court asks state to file status report

With Manipur reeling under internet ban for several months, Manipur High court has asked the state government to file an elaborate status report.

A division bench of Chief Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Golmei Gaiphulshillu Kabui said that, “Having given our anxious consideration to the orders issued by the Review Committee from time to time, we observe that the directions issued by this Court in these Public Interest Litigations have been considered by the statutory authority merely in passing.”

M. Rarry, Special State Counsel, appearing on behalf of the State of Manipur, has produced the relevant original file containing the deliberations and decisions of the Review Committee for the perusal of this Court.

The court ordered, “Let the elaborate status report be filed on or before the next date of hearing, after providing advance copy to all the learned counsel appearing on the other side. M. Rarry, Special State Counsel, undertakes to place the directions issued by this Court before the competent authority, in terms of the provisions of Rule (5)(ii) of the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017. The State of Manipur is directed to produce the relevant original file, in terms of the last order on the next date of hearing, as well”.

The next date of hearing is on December 6. The Manipur government has been extending the ban on the internet.

The State Government had already opened a substantial numbers of mobile towers in few district headquarters, which has not been affected by the violence on trial basis and as per after proper examination/ assessment of the prevailing law and order situation in the State; the State Government is considering to open and operationalize more numbers of mobile towers in the other district headquarters on trial basis, if law and order situation permits.

In view of massive students’ agitation, the Manipur government on September 26, two days after the ban was lifted after 143 days, again suspended mobile Internet data services, internet/data services and after each five days, the ban had been extended.

After the devastating ethnic violence broke out between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki communities on May 3, mobile internet was banned in the entire state.