NEW DELHI — In a significant escalation of security measures around the ongoing student protests at Jantar Mantar, the Delhi government on Wednesday ordered the suspension of mobile internet services across a roughly 5-square-kilometer zone in central Delhi. The order, which took effect at 6:00 AM today, affects an estimated 2-3 lakh mobile subscribers in the notified areas.

The suspension order, signed by the Principal Secretary (Home), Government of NCT of Delhi, invokes Rule 2(1) of the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017, framed under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. It directs all telecom service providers — Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and BSNL — to suspend mobile data services (2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G) in the specified areas.

"This is the first time in three years that mobile internet has been suspended in central Delhi under the 2017 Rules. Previous suspensions were limited to border areas during farmers' protests. Doing this in the heart of the capital — covering Parliament, Connaught Place, government offices — is a major step." — Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Policy Director, Access Now (digital rights organization)

Areas Under Mobile Internet Suspension

The order specifies the following police station jurisdictions and landmarks where mobile data services are suspended:

📍 Parliament Street Police Station

  • Jantar Mantar (protest epicenter)
  • Sansad Marg (Parliament Street)
  • Rafi Marg, Raisina Road
  • North Block, South Block
  • Parliament House complex

📍 Connaught Place Police Station

  • Connaught Place (Inner, Middle, Outer Circles)
  • Janpath, Tolstoy Marg
  • Barakhamba Road (till Mandi House)
  • Baba Kharak Singh Marg
  • Palika Bazaar, Hanuman Mandir area

📍 Chanakyapuri Police Station (partial)

  • Rajpath (India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan)
  • Vijay Chowk
  • Krishi Bhavan, Rail Bhavan
  • Shastri Bhavan, Sanchar Bhavan

📍 Mandir Marg Police Station (partial)

  • Gole Market area
  • Peshwa Road, Bhai Veer Singh Marg
  • RML Hospital vicinity

What Is Suspended vs. What Still Works

✅ SERVICES STILL OPERATIONAL

  • Voice calls — All mobile voice calls (2G/3G/4G/5G/VoLTE/VoWiFi) work normally
  • SMS/MMS — Text messaging fully functional
  • Fixed-line broadband — JioFiber, Airtel Xstream, BSNL Bharat Fiber, ACT, etc. unaffected
  • WiFi hotspots — Public WiFi, office WiFi, home WiFi all work
  • USSD codes — Banking USSD (*99#), balance check, recharge codes work
  • Emergency calls — 112, 100, 101, 102, 108, 1091 all accessible
🚫

SUSPENDED SERVICES

Mobile data ONLY: 2G (GPRS/EDGE), 3G (UMTS/HSPA), 4G (LTE), 5G (NR) — all mobile internet access blocked. Apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, YouTube, Google Maps, Uber/Ola, banking apps will NOT work on mobile data in the notified areas. They WILL work on WiFi/broadband.

Legal Framework: The 2017 Rules

⚖️ Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services Rules, 2017

Statutory basis: Section 7 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 read with Section 5(2) for public emergency/public safety.

Who can order: Union Home Secretary (for national level) or State Home Secretary (for state level). In Delhi's case, the Lt. Governor acts on aid and advice of Council of Ministers.

Duration: Maximum 15 days per order. Can be extended with fresh order. Review committee (Cabinet Secretary + Law Secretary + Telecom Secretary at Centre; Chief Secretary + Law Secretary + Home Secretary at State) must review within 5 working days.

Safeguards: Order must be in writing, reasoned, proportionate. Copy to Review Committee within 24 hours. Affected persons can approach High Court.

Transparency: Rules require publication of order, but in practice orders are rarely made public proactively. RTI is the main route to access them.

Impact Assessment

The suspension zone encompasses some of Delhi's most commercially and administratively dense areas:

  • Government offices: North Block, South Block, Parliament, Rail Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, Shastri Bhavan — ~50,000 employees affected
  • Commercial hub: Connaught Place — ~2,000 businesses, daily footfall ~2 lakh
  • Healthcare: RML Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College — patients, doctors, staff affected
  • Education: Schools/colleges on Mandir Marg, Gole Market, Baba Kharak Singh Marg
  • Tourism: India Gate, Jantar Mantar (heritage site), Connaught Place heritage zone
  • Transport: New Delhi Railway Station (nearby), multiple Metro stations in zone

"My food delivery business has completely stopped. Riders can't accept orders, customers can't track, payments fail. We've lost ~₹40,000 in orders since 6 AM," said Amit Singh, who runs a cloud kitchen in Gole Market.

Gig workers — Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Uber, Ola, Rapido drivers — are among the worst hit as their livelihood depends entirely on mobile data.

Previous Internet Suspensions in Delhi

Since the 2017 Rules came into force, Delhi has seen internet suspensions on these occasions:

  • Dec 2019: Northeast Delhi (Seelampur, Jafrabad, Maujpur) during CAA protests — 48 hours
  • Jan 2021: Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur borders during farmers' protest — 72 hours (extended multiple times)
  • Jan 2022: Parts of North Delhi during Republic Day tractor rally violence — 24 hours
  • March 2023: Nuh border areas during communal tension — 36 hours

This is the first suspension covering the Lutyens' Delhi/Connaught Place zone.

How to Stay Connected

For Residents/Workers in the Zone

  1. Switch to WiFi: Use home/office broadband. Most cafes in CP (Starbucks, CCD, Barista, Chaayos) have free WiFi
  2. Carry portable hotspot: If you have a broadband connection at home, carry a MiFi device
  3. Offline maps: Download Google Maps offline area for Central Delhi before entering zone
  4. Pre-load apps: Open WhatsApp/Telegram/email on WiFi, let them sync, then read offline
  5. USSD banking: Use *99# for UPI, balance check — works on voice network

For Protesters at Jantar Mantar

  1. Designated WiFi zones: Volunteers have set up 3 WiFi hotspots near Gates 1, 3, 5 (SSID: ProtestAid_Free, no password)
  2. Message relay: Volunteers with broadband at nearby offices relay messages via physical notes/voice calls
  3. Offline coordination: Printed schedules, paper maps, designated meeting points every 2 hours

Official Response & Challenges

The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has written to the Delhi Chief Secretary and Union Telecom Secretary, calling the order "disproportionate" and "violative of the Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020) Supreme Court judgment" which held that internet suspensions must be necessary, proportionate, and limited in scope.

"Suspending mobile internet in the entire central Delhi zone — covering Parliament, Supreme Court, ministries, hospitals, businesses, residents — because of a protest at one location (Jantar Mantar) fails the proportionality test. The Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin was clear: least restrictive measures must be tried first. This is a sledgehammer for a nut." — Apar Gupta, Executive Director, Internet Freedom Foundation

The Delhi government has not yet responded to IFF's representation. A PIL challenging the suspension is expected to be filed in the Delhi High Court Thursday.

What Happens Next

The order states "until further notice." Under the 2017 Rules, the Review Committee (Chief Secretary + Law Secretary + Home Secretary, Delhi) must meet within 5 working days (by July 30) to review the necessity of the suspension. However, in practice, such reviews often rubber-stamp extensions.

Sources indicate the suspension may be lifted in a phased manner — first restoring 2G/voice-only data (for UPI, basic messaging) while keeping 4G/5G blocked — if the protest continues through the weekend. A decision is expected after the 2:00 PM security review meeting today.

For updates, follow Delhi Press Post. We will publish the official order copy if obtained via RTI.