Police personnel in North Kashmir's Bandipora. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
Declining pleas for restoration of 4G Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court Monday said the “peculiar circumstances” in the Union Territory required “delicate balancing” of “national security concerns and human rights”. It also underlined that “outside forces are trying to infiltrate the borders and destabilize the integrity of the nation”.
The bench of Justices N V Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai ordered constitution of a Special Committee, headed by the Union Home Secretary, to “immediately determine the necessity of the continuation of” limiting mobile Internet to 2G speed in the region.
The Secretary, Department of Communications, and Chief Secretary of J&K will be part of the committee.
The bench asked the committee to examine the contentions of, and the material placed herein by the Petitioners as well as the Respondents and “also examine the appropriateness of the alternatives suggested by the Petitioners, regarding limiting the restrictions to those areas where it is necessary and the allowing of faster Internet (3G or 4G) on a trial basis…
