After spending 14 months in jail for a case filed under the draconian Digital Security Act, Jagannath University student Khadijatul Kubra finally walked free after the Supreme Court upheld a High Court order granting her bail two days ago.
While it is good to see reason eventually prevail, Khadija’s incarceration was nothing if not further proof of just how flawed the DSA was as far as laws go and how its successor, the Cyber Security Act, is perhaps destined to repeat the same mistakes unless sweeping reforms are made in accordance with recommendations from experts.
According to reports, a DSA case was filed against her three years ago for hosting a webinar which was joined by former army officer Major (retd) Delwar Hossain who proceeded to criticize the incumbent administration. How, exactly, does it make sense to hold the host of a webinar accountable for the words and actions of one of its guests?
Khadija’s incarceration was perhaps as much a failure of poor law-making as it was that of our legal system since, according to reports, she was 17 years old when the cases were filed against her under the DSA in 2020. This is in complete violation of the Children’s Act 2013, which has provisions for trying an accused before a children’s court unless and until their age can be verified.
The right to a fair trial is enshrined in our Constitution, but when a 17-year-old with health complications is denied that right, while simultaneously also being denied bail for over a year, it leaves far too many unanswered questions about the state of our legal system and of laws such as the DSA and its current manifestation.
