Cal HC seeks report over internet curbs during Bengal board exams

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the Bengal government to inform the court by 3pm on Thursday, about the decision of a review committee over restrictions imposed on internet connectivity at some places in the state during the ongoing Madhyamik (secondary) board examinations for Class 10.

The court was informed that the review committee is scheduled to meet at 11am on Thursday.

Taking up a PIL challenging the imposition of such curbs by the state government, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj directed the state to submit a report on the deliberations and decisions in the meeting by 3pm on Thursday.

The matter will also be taken up for hearing at 3pm on Thursday, the court said.

The Bengal home department, in an order issued on March 3, had stopped transmission of internet data-related messages from 11am to 3.15pm on certain dates starting March 7 in specified blocks and police station areas, when the Madhyamik examinations commenced.

The dates and timing of the restrictions coincide with those of the Madhyamik examinations in the state.

The home department order said intelligence reports have been received that internet transmission and voice over internet calls may be used for "unlawful activities in certain areas over the next few days”.

According to an official of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, the move was necessitated in the wake of reports of the alleged leak of question papers from some examination centres in Malda and Murshidabad districts in 2019 and 2020.