SC Seeks Govt’s Response on Ban on Pre-Paid SIMs in J&K

Hearing a plea against the ban on pre-paid mobile SIMs in Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court has given two weeks’ time to the Centre and state government to file their responses.

After admitting a petition challenging Centre’s decision, the court sought responses of the central and state government on the matter and posted the trial to January 8.

Earlier, the Union Home Ministry had taken a decision not to issue fresh pre-paid mobile connections and not to renew existing pre-paid SIM cards after November 1.

Nearly 38 lakh pre-paid mobile phone subscribers were affected by the move in the state.

The step came in the wake of reports that proper verification is not being done while providing such pre-paid mobile connections by the service providers/vendors.

In some cases, a single person had been issued with multiple number of connections.