Supreme Court Accords Fundamental Right Status to Internet Access

On 10^th January, the Supreme Court declared that access to the internet is protected under Article 19 of the Constitution.

Supreme Court Verdict

• In response to a plea against the suspension of internet services in Jammu and Kashmir since last August, a three-judge bench of the Court affirmed that the right to freedom of speech and expression, as guaranteed to all citizens under the first section of that article, covers the right to go online.
• In effect, even if left unsaid, this would make net access a fundamental right.
• It instructed the government for the restoration of internet access to ....