India, March 24 -- The Punjab government's decision to end free online access to first information reports (FIRs) and daily diary reports (DDRs) has triggered a political controversy. Congress leaders, including leader of the opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa and Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh, have demanded an immediate rollback of the "regressive" policy.

The backlash on social media on Tuesday follows a Hindustan Times report on the state notification that mandates a fee of Rs.80 for downloading an FIR and Rs.100 for a DDR from police portals.

Slamming the move, Bajwa argued that it violates the spirit of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in the Youth Bar Association of India case, which tied free, 24-hour digital access of FIR...