The Delhi high court on Friday agreed to urgently hear a petition challenging the suspension of internet services within a 1.5-km radius of Jantar Mantar, where student protesters have been demanding Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over irregularities in examinations.
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The CJP attracted millions of followers on social media before launching a sit-in protest on June 6 demanding Pradhan’s resignation. Crowds swelled through the weekend, and by Monday morning, students and young professionals defied heavy barricading to join the protest.
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On Thursday, the government directed service providers to suspend the services in Central Delhi from 4pm until midnight under the Telecommunications (Temporary Suspension of Services) Rules, 2024. The government maintained the suspension was necessary in the interest of public safety and to avert a public emergency. It said the measure aimed to maintain public order and prevent the incitement of offences. The suspension was extended until 12noon on Friday.
The matter was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia. The petitioner’s counsel requested that the case be taken up at 2:30pm, informing the court that the petition had been filed. Accepting the request, the bench agreed to hear the matter later in the day.
The internet shutdown order was first issued on Monday when tens of thousands of agitators marched to Parliament demanding Pradhan’s resignation. The protesters toppled barricades and moved closer, prompting the sealing of the Parliament complex gates.
Service providers were again directed to temporarily suspend internet services after the clashes on Wednesday between protesters and security personnel. Users in the affected areas received alerts stating that internet services had been suspended in accordance with government instructions.
Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike and forcible removal from Jantar Mantar on Saturday last galvanised the protest movement. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called for the march to Parliament after a 23-day-old sit-in hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.
The CJP was formed after Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant’s remarks referring to some people as “cockroaches” and “parasites. The CJI maintained that his remarks were not directed at the youth but at individuals who entered professions such as law and media using “fake and bogus degrees”.
