Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on Wednesday passed ‘no order’ responding to the appeal and asked the petitioner to move a regular leave-to-appeal.
The petitioner’s lawyer Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan told reporters that the High Court verdict would be in effect after the Chamber Judge’s decision.
They would move the leave-to-appeal after the full text of the High Court verdict is released, he added.
On January 29, High Court rejected the writ petition which sought the court’s directives on the government to stop the broadcast of the three Indian TV channels.
The High Court observed that the petitioners did not approach the authorities concerned before filing the writ.
There is also a committee that oversees the contents different TV channels telecast in the country. The court also said that the channels in question have been maintaining all formalities and paying fees according to the law.
It said that in the era of digitalization it is not fair to stop the airing of television channels which have been abiding laws, but at the same time it is not desirable that any channel airs anything hampering the country’s cultural and social norms.
The court also asked the overseeing committee to keep vigil and promptly respond to any type of complaint about the channels.
Lawyer Sayada Shaheen Ara Laily filed the petition in October 2014 praying for necessary order from the High Court to stop airing those channels in Bangladesh.
The petition alleged that incidents like child killing, quarrel among spouses and murder are on the rise as an impact of programmes the TV channels telecast.
Programmes of Bangladeshi TV channels are also losing popularity as an effect, the petitioner added.
On last Sunday, the petitioner moved the appeal with the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the High Court’s decision.
Monday, March 17, 2025
