The Supreme Court has directed Jammu and Kashmir to make public the review orders of the special committee overseeing internet service restoration, emphasizing transparency. The directive follows a 2020 order to assess internet restrictions, with the petitioner criticizing Jammu and Kashmir’s resistance.
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New Delhi: On 23rd February, the Supreme Court issued a directive to the Jammu and Kashmir administration, instructing them to make public the review orders of the special committee operating under the Union Home Secretary. The court emphasized that the review process should not be perceived as an empty formality and asserted that the deliberations of the committee would not be disclosed to the public.
“Taking into consideration that even a review order would result in affecting the rights of the parties… We express our prima facie opinion, though it may not be necessary to publish review deliberations, orders passed in the review need to be published,”
-stated the three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Sandeep Mehta.
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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Jammu and Kashmir administration, acknowledged that the review order serves as an internal mechanism and assured the court that there is no impediment to publishing the same.
This directive follows the court’s previous order in May 2020, which mandated the establishment of a special committee by the Centre to assess the necessity of restrictions on the Internet in Jammu and Kashmir. Advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for the petitioner, Foundation for Media Professionals, brought to the court’s attention that all states that had imposed restrictions on the Internet had published the review orders, except for Jammu and Kashmir.
“I am surprised that Jammu and Kashmir is resisting. All other states including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya… including border states… have published it. There is no tenable order,”
-exclaimed Farasat.
The petitioner argued that the failure to publish these orders contradicts the law’s mandate and is against the spirit of the Supreme Court’s order in the Anuradha Bhasin case, as well as the Telecom Suspension Rules.
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“The Union government initiated tightening restrictions on the Internet in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370. Journalist Anuradha Bhasin approached the Supreme Court in 2020 seeking a review of the restrictions,”
– the court was reminded.
This development raises questions about the transparency of the review process and the compliance of Jammu and Kashmir with legal mandates.
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As the court emphasizes the importance of publishing review orders, it seeks to ensure accountability and adherence to established procedures. The resistance of Jammu and Kashmir to publish these orders becomes particularly noteworthy in comparison to other states that have complied with similar mandates.
