Eleven citizens, including university teachers and activists, sent a legal notice to the government yesterday requesting it to scrap section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act since it contradicts the country’s constitution.
Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua served the notice to the secretaries of law, ICT and home ministries by post on behalf of the citizens.
The notice says that legal procedures will be initiated if the respondents do not reply within 24 hours to inform what steps have been taken to scrap the provision, the lawyer said.
The citizens who signed the notice are Dhaka University history teacher Ahmed Kamal, journalism department’s Gitiara Nasreen and Fahmidul Haq, international relations teachers Akmal Hossain and Tanjim Uddin Khan, social science’s Samina Lutfa, Jahangirnagar University economics teacher Anu Muhammad, writer Rakhal Raha, Biplobi Workers’ Party General Secretary Saiful Haque, cultural activist Arup Rahee and Dhaka resident Abdus Salam.
The notice says that section 57 of the ICT Act contradicts article 39 of the constitution, which ensures freedom of speech.
On Wednesday, a writ petition was filed and a legal notice served asking the government to scrap the controversial provision amid severe criticisms regarding its alleged abuse by the law enforcement agencies.
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 was 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.
