A Division Bench of the Manipur High Court headed by the Chief Justice on Monday directed the State government to operationalise mobile towers, on a trial basis, in all areas of the State not affected by the ethnic violence, underway for over seven months now.
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This comes a day after the Manipur Government issued an order extending its internet restrictions till November 8, but also said it was going to operationalise mobile towers in districts that had not been affected by the ethnic violence.
The State has been witnessing ethnic conflict between the Valley-based dominant Meitei community and the Hills-based Scheduled Tribe Kuki-Zomi people since May 3. Over 180 people have been killed since with thousands injured and tens of thousands others internally displaced.
During the hearing on a batch of PIL petitions related to the internet restrictions in the State since May 3, the Manipur government submitted its November 5 order. In light of this, the Bench of newly-appointed Chief Justice Sidharth Mridul and Justice Golmei Gaiphulshillu Kabui on Monday ordered the operationalisation of mobile towers in areas unaffected by violence.
While the Manipur government had said it was considering this in unaffected districts, the High Court clarified that its directions were also meant to cover pockets of peaceful regions even within districts where other parts were seeing violence.
“It is clarified that even in the Districts that are partially affected by violence, those areas which are not so affected - in the same District - mobile towers shall be operationalized forthwith,” the court said in its order, posting the matter for compliance on November 9.
Furthermore, the High Court also directed the State government to ensure that all orders and notifications regarding the suspension/curbing of mobile internet/data services, internet/data services through VPN were made public on its website expeditiously.
Since the violence began in Manipur, the State has been under an internet shutdown. In July, the Home Department issued an order partially lifting the internet shutdown only for specific types of broadband users and under strict conditions of monitoring, requiring internet service providers to secure undertakings from their users. However, with sporadic incidents of violence continuing in the state, restrictions were brought in once again and extended from time to time.
