Gujarat had shut down mobile Internet services for four hours yesterday morning to prevent cheating on phones during Revenue Accountants Recruitment Exam, reports the Times of India. This is the third time Gujarat has blocked mobile Internet services since September 2015. The Gujarat government had banned mobile Internet usage for a week in the wake of the protests by the Patel community for reservation. The Gujarat government blocked mobile Internet services in Godhra again in September following derogatory messages against Islam which were circulated on WhatsApp. The Times of India report said that the block was signed by the additional district magistrate AB Gor and the notification read that Internet services was shut down considering the sensitive nature of the exam. Ahmedabad collector Rajkumar Beniwal said the internet ban was necessary to avoid irregularities such as the 2015 leak of the exam paper. Generally, mobile Internet bans are enforced under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that allows local law administration to ban unlawful assembly and justify short bans on Internet services. Section 144 of the CrPC can usually be invoked by a district magistrate or the collector. MediaNama's take The mobile Internet ban in this case is absolutely unjustified. Section 144 is usually invoked to control the law and order situation. In the case of the Patel agitations and the incident in Godhra, there was a situation where violence could erupt. Where is the law and order situation in conducting an examination? That said, the Supreme Court's order of leaving mobile Internet bans up…
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