Lawyers urge Chief Justice of India to restrain MHA from imposing further internet shutdown at Delhi borders

New Delhi, February 3: A group of 140 lawyers has written a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) S.A. Bobde urging him to take cognizance of a Centre’s direction to impose internet shutdowns at Delhi’ borders where farmers are protesting against the three farm laws.

The letter urged the CJI to take suo motu note of the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and suspend the order to ensure that farmers’ right to protest is protected. The lawyers have suggested to the CJI that the apex judiciary should direct the MHA to “restrain from imposing further Internet shutdowns at the protest sites and adjoining areas.”

The letter written by lawyers Sitwat Nabi and Abhisht Hela, which purportedly contained signatures of 140 advocates, asked “the Judiciary under the guidance of the CJI to set up a Commission of Enquiry to probe into: – police inaction in controlling the violence and the role of the Delhi Police in allegedly facilitating the mob attack on 29 January, 2021 and failing to ensure peace and security,” news agency PTI reported.

“Action against the 200 local hoodlums who, as reports state, had engaged in the manhandling of protestors, and journalists at the Singhu Protest venue. Strict action against the journalists and the news channels who are spreading provocative content and fake rumors about the farmers and their protest,” the letter said.

The suspension of internet order issued by the MHA is a “gross misuse of power by the Central government and is causing disruption to the protestors and individuals in exercising their fundamental conferred under Article 19 (1) (a) which had been upheld by the Supreme Court in…,” it said.

“The ‘state-of-the-art’ political scenario of the year 2021 is witnessing a paradigm shift wherein there has been incessant vilification and ostracization of the farmers protesting against the three Farm Laws for over 6 months. Aggravating the issue further, many mainstream media channels are determined to change their names from ‘Farmers’ or ‘Ann-daatas’ to ‘Terrorists’ or ‘Khalistanis’,” it said.

The farmers are protesting at three Delhi borders for almost two months seeking repeal of three laws. They are: the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act.

On January 12, the apex court had already stayed the implementation of the contentious new farm laws till further orders and had constituted a committee to make recommendations to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/lawyers-urge-chief-justice-of-india-to-restrain-mha-from-imposing-further-internet-shutdown-at-delhi-borders/article33741198.ece