Dhaka: A Bangladeshi court has annulled a new contempt of court law that protected journalists and officials, prompting the government on Friday to challenge the verdict.
The High Court on Thursday declared the law “void and unconstitutional”, saying it curtailed the judiciary’s constitutional powers to deal with contempt cases. Provisions of the Contempt of Court Act 2013 are discriminatory since they give protection to only a section of people, the court said in its ruling.
Every citizen is equal in the eye of the law under the constitution, it observed. The Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) enacted the law in February this year. The government today decided to challenge the verdict. “We (government) have decided to challenge the High Court verdict… let it be decided by the highest court of the country,” Law Minister Shafique Ahmed told PTI.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, meanwhile, told newsmen a petition would be filed in the Supreme Court seeking a temporary stay on the judgement until the disposal of the case at the apex court. The two-member High Court bench in its ruling said the law was also contrary to the constitutional provisions that ensured the equal rights of all citizens and contradictory to the inherent power of the higher judiciary to summon anyone to face contempt charges.
“We don’t want anyone’s hands be tied up… we take help from the press almost every day and court does not want to limit the freedom of press, but this freedom should not be unfettered,” the verdict said. The judgement also observed that the law virtually gave government officials the power to disobey the court orders as they could not be summoned on contempt charges while the contempt case against any official would become ineffective immediately after his or her retirement.
“This cannot be considered democratic,” the court said. During hearing the attorney general told the court it was framed to ensure freedom of opinion and allow government officials to discharge their lawful duties smoothly. Legal expert and politician Kamal Hossain, who stood in the court against the writ, said after a long time since 1926, the country had the Contempt of Court Act, which was passed in parliament while “an act of parliament cannot be annulled so easily”.
Ruling Awami League’s lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta said parliament had made the law in line with the constitution and “by providing further protection for freedom of speech and freedom of press, we intended to strengthen democracy”. Main opposition BNP leader and former Law Minister Moudud Ahmed said he supported the provisions made in the contempt of court law regarding freedom of the press, as those had been made for the sake of strengthening democracy. (PTI)