SHILLONG, Nov 23: Suspension Rules under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, requires that internet suspension orders must include reasons for such suspension, Jade Lyngdoh, a researcher and law student wrote in a letter to the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya after the government’s decision to temporarily shut down internet services in view of the firing incident that occurred in Mukroh village in West Jaintia Hills.
In the letter, Lyngdoh said the suspension order merely refers to a vague reference of a law and order situation in the state.
It states that “messaging systems like WhatsApp and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, etc., are likely to be used for transmission of information through pictures, videos, and text, having the potential to cause serious breakdown of law and order”.
Jade Lyngdoh is a student of National Law University, Jodhpur, and a researcher of law and technology, and a resident of Shillong.
He has urged the Chief Secretary to convene a meeting of the Review Committee urgently and consider whether the internet suspension may be lifted earlier than 48 hours.
He also stated that the Suspension Rules mandate that a copy of the suspension order must be sent latest by the next working day to a review committee, which must meet within five working days.
Lyngdoh further requested that the review committee must ensure that the minutes of the meeting be published in public domain.
The Meghalaya government, through its Secretary, Home (Police), issued an internet suspension order on November 22, which was to begin the same day, for 48 hours. The “Suspension Order” was valid in seven districts including East Khasi Hills, where Shillong is.
The Suspension Order stated that an “untoward incident” had taken place, which could “disturb public peace and tranquility, and cause a threat to public safety […], which may likely breakdown law and order (sic)”, the letter read.
The Suspension Order also stated that messaging and social media platforms, like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube could be used for transmission of information, and that this could potentially break down law and order.
On these grounds, the order invoked the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services Rules, 2017 and the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, to completely suspend all mobile internet services.
The letter stated that “gaps in this completely unreasoned order were filled in by our community, which informed us of unfortunate incidents of violence that may have taken place around the same time, but were not alluded to in the Suspension Order itself.”
The letter referred to a case, Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020) 3 SCC 637, wherein the Supreme Court directed that internet suspension orders must record its reasons, to enable affected persons to challenge them.
The Suspension Rules require the review committee to meet within five days and record their findings on whether the order was issued in accordance with law.
In his letter, Lyngdoh noted that in 2021, the Centre and states have suspended internet services for over 1,108 hours. The figure for 2020 was 8,927 hours reportedly costing the country USD 2.8 billion or Rs 20,937 crore.
“Apart from the legal concerns, the economic, psychological, social, and journalistic harm caused by such suspensions outweighs any speculative benefits as, amongst other things, residents of the affected areas are unable to communicate, carry on with their businesses, trades or professions, continue their education or verify news that they receive,” he said.
He further pointed out that sectors such as tourism, IT, e-commerce, freelancers, and press and news media take the hardest hit. Suspending mobile-internet, while allowing fixed-line internet to function, disproportionately affects those underprivileged by the digital divide, Lyngdoh observed.
Citing Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India case again, he said the SC held that the right to freedom of speech and expression, and to carry on one’s profession, guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution of India, extends to the medium of the internet.
