States can ban internet services to maintain law & order: SC

The state government can suspend internet services if deemed necessary, said the Supreme Court of India as it rejected a plea challenging the power of state governments to suspend internet services. The apex court argued that such steps are necessary to maintain law and order situation in states. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) had challenged the state government powers under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and section 5 of the Telegraph Act to shut down internet services.The PIL said that the internet services cannot be shut down completely but that access can be restricted. This came on the back of ban imposed on mobile internet by the Gujarat government for around 10 days during the Patidar agitation in 2015. Similar bans have been imposed in other states as well, including Jammu & Kashmir.