Respond to plea for 4G restoration in J&K, SC tells govt

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the government on a petition to restore mobile Internet data services in Jammu and Kashmir to 4G speed, as doctors, patients and the general public are unable to access the latest information, guidelines, advisories, daily updates and restrictions about COVID-19. The petition, filed by Foundation for Media Professionals through its president and journalist Paranjoy Guna Thakurta and represented by advocate Shadan Farasat, said the “citizens in Jammu & Kashmir should not be deprived of facilities that are already available to Indians across the country, i.e., effective and speedy internet, an indispensable tool in the struggle against COVID-19”. The plea said, “The restriction in respect of mobile internet speeds effectively amounts to a targeted rollback of such rights in respects of the residents of Jammu & Kashmir.” It pointed out that Internet in J&K had been restricted for over seven months following the abrogation of the special status of the Kashmiri people under Article 370 in August 2019. The petition said there was need for real-time information, which the restricted Internet services running on the outdated 2G speed, largely used to receive and send text messages, cannot provide.