Staff Reporter :
Telecast of three Indian channels namely Star Jalsha, Star Plus and Zee Bangla will continue in Bangladesh.
The High Court (HC) on Sunday rejected a writ petition filed seeking directives on the government to stop telecast of the above three Indian television channels.
The HC bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice J B M Hassan delivered the verdict after hearing the petition.
Advocate Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan took part in the hearing in favour of the petition. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Saju stood for the State while Advocate Abdul Motin Khasru and Advocate Shamsul Hasan were for the channels.
Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Saju told the reporters now there is no legal bar to telecast these three channels in Bangladesh after the HC judgment.
Advocate Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan said that they would appeal against the judgment. Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan said in the hearing that these three channels are decaying moral values, ethics and culture in our society. Our own culture is under threat. These channels are harming study of our students, promoting rift between husbands and wives, extra marital affairs and murders even.
Syeda Shahin Ara Laily, a Supreme Court lawyer, submitted the petition to the HC in September 2014, saying programmes broadcast by the three channels left adverse impact on social and cultural life of Bangladeshi people.
Education of the students and regular activities of housewives are being hampered due to watching the channels’ programmes, she mentioned in the petition.
The petition was filed after a report published in the newspaper, which said, many committed suicide in our country failing to buy a ‘Pakhi Jama’ marketed in the name of Pakhi, a character of a serial broadcast by Star Jalsah.
Syeda Shahin Ara Laily also said in the petition that these channels were broadcasting violating the Cable and Television Network Act of 2006. The HC issued a rule on October 19 in 2014 after hearing the petition. On January 8, 2017, the HC started the final hearing and concluded on January 25. That day the HC fixed January 29 to deliver the verdict.
