Two days ago, on the 17th of December, Robert Singh Kshetrimayum, the District Magistrate of Imphal West district, and Ningthoujam Geoffrey, the District Magistrate of Imphal East district, both in Manipur, directed all telecom operators to shut down the access to the Internet. The reasons? According to Kshetrimayum, he "feared that spreading of rumours through mobile data by using social media like facebook, whatsapp, hike, messenger and viber etc., will increase social tension among the public." The shut-down was justified in "order to maintain law and order". Geoffrey was far more explicit: There is an emergency. He said that rumours are being spread and disseminated through mobile data services, and "the situation does not allow identification of individual mobile data service providers or individual users of mobile data service providers who are indulging in dissemination of such unfounded rumours, and therefore it is therefore considered that prohibition of transmission of data in any form through mobile data services is likely to prevent loss of human life and property in the prevailing situation." The orders were issued under Section 144 of the Cr.P.C., and both orders explicitly mentioned that the shutdown is applicable "until further orders." But is there a need? Does it really help? Shutting down access to communications (the ability to transmit and receive speech) is a suspension of fundamental rights, and is an instance of the government, through its representative, the District Magistrate, acknowledging their inability to maintain law and order without the suspension of a fundamental right. That…
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