The High Court Wednesday directed the media to refrain from publishing derogatory remarks about a woman, a former official of real estate company Ashiyan City, so that she could not be further victimised.
A vacation bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Jafar Ahmed passed the order following a writ petition lodged by the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association.
BNWLA Executive Director Salma Ali filed the writ with the High Court Wednesday on behalf of the organisation. She told the Dhaka Tribune that the owner and publisher of the Bangla daily Manobkantha Nazrul Islam had tried to tarnish the character of the woman by publishing reports regularly in his paper as well as in the daily Ittefaq and Jugantor in the name of advertisements, which had violated her constitutional right of privacy.
The High Court issued a rule to explain why the reporting and advertisement on her should not be called to be ceased. The editor and publisher of the daily Manobkantha and Ittefaq and the Ashiyan City managing director have to respond to the rule.
The court issued another rule asking why direction should not be given to formulate a guideline to stop the publication of demeaning news on women and children. The law secretary, the information secretary, the home secretary, the women and children secretary, the Press Council chairman, the Press Institute and the National Press Club were ordered to respond to the rule.