Section 57: 11 citizens serve legal notice on govt

Eleven citizens, including some educationists, today served a legal notice on the government asking for information on steps taken to scrap Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, which has come under criticism recently.

According to the section, if any person deliberately publishes or transmits false, obscene and derogatory information in a website or in any other electronic form, he or she will be awarded seven to 14 years’ imprisonment and fined up to Tk 1 crore.

On behalf of the citizens, Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua sent the notice to the secretaries of the ministries of law, home and ICT, saying that appropriate legal action will be taken if they do not respond to the notice in 24 hours.

The notice also requested the government officials to immediately take steps to cancel the Section 57 of the ICT Act, saying that the section is contradictory to the constitutional provision of freedom of expression, thought, conscience and free speech.

The 11 citizens are: Dhaka University teachers Ahmed Kamal, Gitiara Nasreen, Fahmidul Haque, Tanzimuddin Khan and Samina Lutfa and its former teacher Akmal Hussain, Jahangirnagar University teacher Anu Muhammad, Bam Morcha (left alliance) leader Abdus Salam, singer and writer Arup Rahi, writer Rakhal Raha and Biplobi Workers’ Party General Secretary Saiful Huq. 

On Wednesday, Zakir Hossain, an accused in a case filed under the section, filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the legality of the section.

He also prayed to the HC to declare the section unconstitutional.

Earlier on Wednesday, Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond sent a legal notice to the government requesting it to scrap Sections 57 (1) and 86 of the ICT law.

Section 86 of the law protects government employees from the offences mentioned in Section 57(1), he said in the notice. The two sections were discriminatory and unconstitutional, he added.

Though rights activists have been critical from the beginning, the debate over Section 57 and demand for its repeal has intensified following the arrest of journalist Probir Sikdar.

The arrest sparked huge protests on the streets and also in the social media.