RANCHI: The Jharkhand High Court has sought a reply from the State government on its policy to ban the internet after the same was done across the state for more than five hours on Saturday for conducting the JSSC CGL examination.
After repeated cases of paper leaks, the State administration has taken the steps to ensure a fair (JSSC CGL) examination on the 21st and 22nd of September.
The Home Department ordered suspension of internet services from 8 am to 1:30 pm on 21st and 22nd of September.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation against the shutdown of internet services across Jharkhand due to the JSSC CGL examination the bench of High Court judges including Justice Ananda Sen and Justice Anubha Rawat Chaudhary asked the government what is the policy for shutting down the internet.
The court asked whether the internet would be shut down in this manner during all examinations. The court also directed the State government to file a reply in this matter through an affidavit within four weeks.
State Bar Council Chairman Rajendra Krishna, appearing on behalf of the petitioner said that due to the shutdown of internet services, many jobs are being affected and it is directly affecting the work of the people.
Arguing on behalf of the state government, the Advocate General informed the court that ‘only mobile internet has been shut down as a precaution so that there is no disturbance in the examination. The rest of the internet services are running as before.’