Supreme Court: ‘Although technology empowers, the digital divide is also a reality’, the Supreme Court observed during the hearing of a case on Tuesday (January 2). Actually, the Supreme Court was hearing the petition of a person who wanted to join Bihar Police. But due to a typo his dream was shattered. In his online application, the date of birth was recorded as 08/12/1997 instead of 18/12/1997.
According to Hindustan Times report, the bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Vishwanathan found that the petitioner comes from a small village in Bihar and from the lowest section of the society. It must have been difficult for him to understand the environment of the cybercafe. The court directed the state government to issue an appointment letter to the petitioner and appoint him as a constable in Bihar Police within four weeks.
If recruitment is not done then appointment should be done when further vacancy arises: Court
The court said in its decision, ‘We further direct that even in the circumstances of no vacancy, considering the special nature of this case, appointment ledger will have to be issued. We give this decision on the basis of the powers given in Article 142 of the Constitution of India. We further direct that in case of no vacancy, the state is free to adjust the vacancy in the next recruitment, this can also be resorted to by the government in the coming years.
What is digital divide?
The bench acknowledged that it cannot ignore the existing ground realities in this case. The Supreme Court had rightly said in its 2021 decision that technology works to empower. But there is also a digital divide. Digital divide is the situation when a part of the population has access to computers and the internet, but a part remains far away from these facilities. The court mentioned the same thing in this case.
Also read: What will happen next in Adani-Hindenburg case? Supreme Court’s decision tomorrow