The High Court yesterday issued a rule upon the government to explain why Section 57 of the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Act should not be declared unconstitutional.
The bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal asked the secretaries to the ministries of ICT, home and information to come up with their explanations by four weeks.
The order came in response to a writ petition moved by 11 eminent citizens including university teachers challenging the legality of the much-talk-about provision.
During the hearing, petitioners’ lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua told the court that a similar provision in India’s ICT Act had been termed unconstitutional, and therefore, scrapped by their apex court in March. “Since the Section 57 of our ICT Act was prepared based on the India’s one, it should be scraped too,” he said.
On the other hand, Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Sazu said that a separate High Court bench was holding hearing on a similar writ petition while another petition rejected. “So there is no need to move the third one.”
Meanwhile, the bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo fixed today to pass order on the petition filed by Zakir Hossain, an accused in a case filed under the Section 57.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam opposed the petition during the second day’s hearing yesterday. He said the section was consistent with relevant provisions of the constitution.
Zakir moved the petition on August 26 urging the court to declare the section unconstitutional. His lawyer placed arguments on Sunday.
Another petition was filed by lawyer Yunus Ali Akanda last week. But the court rejected the petition after a hearing terming it premature.
Debate over the Section 57 and demands for its cancellation began since the formulation of the Act in 2006. But the controversy intensified recently when veteran journalist and war crimes trial campaigner Probir Sikdar was arrested and sent to jail in a case filed for defaming a minister.
Journalists, rights bodies and writers have been demanding cancellation of the controversial provision claiming that it is being misused.
The law minister, Anisul Huq, recently said the government would consider revising the section as many raised questions about it.
The ICT Act was passed in 2006 and amended twice – in 2009 and 2013. In the latest amendment, offences under Section 57 were made non-bailable and the maximum punishment extended to 14 years’ imprisonment. Offenders can be punished by minimum seven years imprisonment and the fine can be as high as Tk1 crore under the Act.
“If any person deliberately publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the website or in any other electronic form any material which is false and obscene and if anyone sees, hears or reads it having regard to all relevant circumstances, its effect is such as to influence the reader to become dishonest or corrupt, or causes to deteriorate or creates possibility to deteriorate law and order, prejudice the image of the state or person or causes to hurt or may hurt religious belief or instigate against any person or organisation, then this activity will be regarded as an offence,” the provision reads.