The Centre has empowered the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise telecom-related powers in the interest of public safety and during emergencies in the Union Territory.
According to a gazette notification issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the President in pursuance of clause (1) of Article 239 of Constitution, directed the Lt Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, shall until further orders exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the State government under sub section (2) of Section 20 of the Telecommunication Act, 2023 (44 of 2023) within the Union Territory.
The LG will exercise these powers under the control of the President of India and shall remain valid till further orders.
The notification has defined the authority to exercise telecom-related powers in the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory and authorises the LG to exercise telecom-related powers on behalf of the government in J&K.
Earlier, when J&K was a state, such powers used to vest with the state government.
LG Manoj Sinha, by using the Telecom powers, can order monitoring of telecom communication, temporarily block transmission when required by law, allow interception of calls and messages during any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.