IJU Welcomes SC Verdict Against Internet Lockdown In J&K

Hyderabad/Chandigarh, Jan.10 (Maxim News): The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has welcomed the Supreme Court judgment, which slammed the Union Government for the prolonged lockdown of Internet and communication services in Jammu and Kashmir since August 5 in the aftermath of scrapping of Article 370.

A bench comprising Justice NV Ramana, Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice B R Gavai ordered the State administration to review all orders issued by the State government in this regard within a week. The IJU filed an Intervention Petition (IP) by Kashmir Times Executive Editor Anuradha Bhasin challenging the Internet and mobile lockdown.

In a statement here on Friday, IJU president K Sreenivas Reddy and secretary-general and member of the Press Council of India (PCI) Balwinder Singh Jammu said the apex court’s judgment that ‘an indefinite Internet shutdown is abuse of power and mere expression of dissent or disagreement against a government decision cannot be the reason for Internet suspension’. It said the Union government could not trample on the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression for its narrow political ends.

“We are happy that the Supreme Court has recognized that freedom of speech and expression includes the right to internet within Article 19 and restrictions on it have to follow principles of proportionality under Article 19(2),” the IJU leaders said. However, they also expressed disappointment that the Court stopped short of ‘striking down’ the communications lockdown in Jammu & Kashmir, and instead asked the Jammu & Kashmir administration to review all orders banning the internet within a week.

Sreenivas Reddy and Balwinder Jammu called upon the journalists organizations and the civil society to legally challenge any and all internet shut downs in appropriate courts as the apex court judgment clearly held that such orders were justifiable. (Maxim News)