Supreme Court to hear Manipur govt's plea against limited restoration of internet in state on July 17

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 17, a plea by the Manipur government against the Manipur High Court order for limited restoration of the internet.

Advocate Kanu Agarwal made a mention of the state government’s pending plea before a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, who agreed to consider the matter on July 17.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Manipur government, had also mentioned the same matter before the top court saying that the situation in the state changes rapidly.

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The Manipur High Court had earlier this month directed the state government to carry out physical trials to check the feasibility of providing Internet service to mobile phones while ensuring the security of the life and property of citizens.

The court, which has asked for a detailed report, will hear the case on July 25.

After hearing multiple PILs, a division bench of Justice A Bimol and Justice A Guneshwor Sharma said, "In the case of Fibre To The Home (FTTH) connections Internet service can be provided by the home department on a case-to-case basis" after ensuring compliance of the safeguards suggested by the committee.

The 12-member Expert Committee had informed the court that Internet service could be provided through broadband connections, either through Internet Leased Line (ILL) or FTTH by ensuring "static IP, banning of Wifi/Hotspots from any of the routers or system, blocking of social media websites and VPNs at the local level, removal of VPN software from the system and prohibiting the installation of new software by any user and enforcing physical monitoring by the authority/officials concerned."