Section 57: HC order on plea tomorrow

The High Court today fixed tomorrow to pass its order on a writ petition that challenged the legality of the much-talked-about Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act.

The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo set the date after hearing arguments on the petition moved by Zakir Hossain, an accused in a case filed under the section.

During the hearing, petitioner’s lawyer Imran Siddique told the court that Section 57 is unconstitutional since it has given unfettered discretion to the administration.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam strongly opposed the petition, saying that the section was consistent with relevant provisions of the constitution.

According to Section 57, 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 sentenced to seven to 14 years imprisonment and fined with maximum Tk one crore.

Zakir Hossain moved the petition on August 26 urging the HC to declare the section unconstitutional.

The attorney general told the court that the names of such offences that have been mentioned in Section 57 of ICT act cannot be allowed in the state in any manner.

Mahbubey Alam read out Section 57 (1), saying that if any person deliberately publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the website or in any other electronic form any material which is false and obscene and if anyone sees, hears or reads it having regard to all relevant circumstances, its effect is such as to influence the reader to become dishonest or corrupt, or causes to deteriorate or creates possibility to deteriorate law and order, prejudice the image of the state or person or causes to hurt or may hurt religious belief or instigate against any person or organisation, then this activity will be regarded as an offence.

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