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The District Magistrate of Doda in Jammu and Kashmir, Krishan Lal, ordered a complete ban on the use of Virtual Private Networks across the district for two months on 6 September 2026.
The order was issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the successor to Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The administration said VPNs were being used to bypass lawful cyber restrictions and reach prohibited applications, websites and content, with risks to public order and national security.
The prohibition covers individuals, institutions, cyber cafes, business establishments and internet service providers in the district, with exemptions only where the government specifically authorises use.
Empowers a District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate or specially empowered Executive Magistrate to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger. It is the successor to Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, and such an order ordinarily remains in force for up to two months, extendable by the state government to six.
The separate central route for blocking public access to online content; the Doda order restricts the tool used to evade such blocks rather than blocking content itself.
The Supreme Court held that indefinite internet suspension is impermissible, that such orders must be published and subject to periodic review, and that restrictions must satisfy proportionality - the test against which district-level internet curbs are judged.
A VPN builds an encrypted tunnel between a device and a remote server across the public internet. It authenticates the endpoint, encapsulates the original packets inside transport packets, and encrypts the contents - so an intermediary sees traffic to the server but not what it carries.
Simple Analogy: A sealed courier pouch sent through the ordinary post.
The three new criminal laws that took effect on 1 July 2024 renumbered familiar provisions - CrPC 144 became BNSS 163. Questions increasingly give the new numbering.
Encrypted communication engages Article 21 privacy after K S Puttaswamy (2017) and Article 19(1)(a); restrictions must meet the tests of legality, necessity and proportionality.
Temporary suspension of telecom services is governed by rules under the Telegraph Act framework; a VPN ban is a narrower but related instrument of the same policy family.
GS Paper 2 > Fundamental Rights, reasonable restrictions; GS Paper 3 > Cyber security and challenges to internal security through communication networks
General Awareness > Polity, Computer Awareness and Current Affairs
Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated by which constitutional mechanism?
Answer: Presidential Order under Article 370(3)
The "Rau's Sarangi" is a folk musical instrument from which state?
Answer: Jammu and Kashmir
"Rauf" is a folk dance form of which region?
Answer: Jammu and Kashmir
The "Rauf" dance is associated with which state/UT?
Answer: Jammu and Kashmir
The 'Rauf' is a folk dance of which region?
Answer: Jammu and Kashmir
Encapsulating data packets inside other packets to carry them privately across public network infrastructure.
The magistrate's power to issue urgent prohibitory orders against nuisance or apprehended danger, replacing Section 144 CrPC.
The constitutional standard requiring a rights-restricting measure to be legal, necessary, and the least intrusive means to a legitimate aim.