SC to hear petition, seeking 4G restoration, tomorrow

SRINAGAR — The Supreme Court will tomorrow hear a petition seeking restoration of 4G internet in Jammu & Kashmir. The petition is listed before a three-judge bench comprising Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice Subhash Reddy and Justice B.R. Gavai.

The advocates will address the court through video-conferencing mode in terms of circular issued by the Court on March 23 and 26.

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on April 02 seeking restoration of 4G mobile internet services in the area during the period of lockdown.

The petition filed by “Foundation for Media Professionals” contends that the patients, doctors, and the general public of Jammu & Kashmir are unable to access the latest information, guidelines, advisories, and restrictions about COVID19 that are being made available and continuously updated online on a daily basis.

The petitioner asserted that doctors are not able to access online resources on measures to curb COVID-19 at all, due to the internet speed being too slow to download data-heavy files.

The petitioner has also submitted that slow internet speeds rendered “telemedicine” or online video consultation impossible. The petition stated that restoration of full-fledged internet services is also crucial to strictly implement the “work from home” policy being promoted by the government.