Section 57: Counsel from police HQ must to accept case

From now on police have to take advice from the legal wing of the police headquarters before registering any case under the section 57 of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act.

Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque today issued the order directing all police units to follow the instruction properly.

The police chief in the order also instructed to demonstrate utmost cautiousness in recording case for offences committed under section 57 of the ICT Act, 2013. If any suspicion arises about any complaint, the police station concerned would immediately register a general diary and then verify the authenticity of the complaint.

The order also asked to ensure no innocent people are harassed.

A police HQ press release issued last night said different types of news are being aired/published in mass media regarding the filing of cases for offences under the section 57 of the ICT Act. Allegation rises that law is not properly enforced in filing cases under the section.

The IGP issued the order to bring the offender to book through proper enforcement of the law and to ensure any innocent people are not harassed, it added.

The order came amid widespread criticism over the “misuse” of section 57, a day after a journalist was arrested in a case under the section filed by a colleague, for alleged libel against a local lawmaker in Khulna.

Meanwhile, journalists have strongly condemned the section 57 saying it is a bar to free speech and univocally demanded its removal.

Law Minister Anisul Huq on several occasions said section 57 would be repealed. The minister on July 9 said the government would decide on the matter while finalising the draft of “Digital Security Act” this month.

Several journalists have been made victims of the law in Bangladesh so far despite government assurance that the provision will not be misused.

But cases filed under the section are piling on. According to a source at the Cyber Tribunal in Dhaka, around 700 cases have so far been filed under section 57 since 2013 when the act was amended with stringent punishment.