NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has rejected urgent hearing of a plea related to suspension of internet services in the violence-hit state of Manipur.
Rejecting the plea, the Supreme Court stated that the Manipur high court is already seized of a similar issue.
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The urgent hearing plea was heard by a vacation bench comprising justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal.
“The (Manipur) high court is hearing the matter. What is the need to duplicate proceedings? Mention before the regular bench,” the Supreme Court stated.
The plea was filed in the Supreme Court by Chongtham Victor Singh and Mayengbam James.
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The plea claimed that the internet suspension in Manipur for over a month was “grossly disproportionate”.
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It argued that the people of Manipur, which has been ravaged by ethnic violence, are in “fear, anxiety, helplessness, and frustration” due to internet suspension.
People are not being able to connect with their loved ones, the plea stated.
“Continued suspension of the internet for the purpose of preventing rumour-mongering and the spread of misinformation does not pass the threshold prescribed by the Telecom Suspension Rules, 2017,” the plea said.
Earlier, the Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) urged the state government to consider restoring internet services in the state.
Internet services, including broadband, were suspended by the Manipur government after violence broke out in the state on May 3.
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MHRC chairperson justice U Bikash Saha and member KK Singh in an order asked the Manipur home commissioner to consider restoring internet in Manipur.
“We are of the view that the Internet plays a vital role in the modern day life, more so when the young generation of the country who are working from home through the Internet and also the students who would appear in the examination through online may face severe effects without the Internet,” the Manipur rights panel stated in the order.