Internet service cannot be shut down for Madhyamik (class 10) examinations. A division bench of the Calcutta High Court headed by Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava issued a stay on the West Bengal government’s directive to shut down the internet.

West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) had earlier decided to temporarily ban internet services in some areas for the duration of the West Bengal Madhyamik examination to prevent any form of cheating and malpractices.

The step was taken after reports came in of some purported leak of WB 10th Exams question papers in 2019 and 2020 in many areas, especially in Malda and Murshidabad.

The court also directed the state government to take all possible steps to prevent cheating in exams. The High Court also directed the state government to submit a detailed affidavit within two weeks of its decision to shut down the internet.

Madhyamik examination started on March 7 in West Bengal.

Public interest litigation was filed in the High Court challenging that directive. The lawyer filed a petition to cancel the directive to shut down the internet in an unethical manner.

Counter-state advocate general Soumendranath Mukherjee argued that section 144 had not been issued anywhere in the state. The internet service was shut down in certain places on the basis of intelligence reports just to stop the cheating and question papers leak during exams. And that also from 11 a.m. to 3.15 p.m on exams days.

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