Staff Reporter :
Law Minister Anisul Huq has said that the government has taken necessary steps to ensure the best practice of the Digital Security Act (DSA) as this law has been misused and abused to some extent.
The Minister said, “I have talked to the Home Minister over this issue. He has issued a directive in front of me so that if anybody files a case under the Digital Security Act, it will be sent to the cell, which has been established in 2006 under the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Act, for examination.”
“If the cell finds, after examination, that there is prima facie case (elementary evidence) to run the case, then it will be sent to the court concerned for trial. If there is no necessary information or data in the case, it will not be accepted.
There was a trend of immediate arrest of accused after filing of case under the Digital Security Act. But steps have been taken so that the accused of a case under this act will be arrested only after the court accepts the case and considers that a punishable offence has been committed. Otherwise, summons will be issued against the accused,” the Minister also said.
The Law Minister said this while speaking as the chief guest to a function of the Law Reporters Forum (LRF), an organization of reporters covering Constitution, law and human rights related issues, at Hotel Pearl in capital’s Banani on Tuesday night.
The LRF’s outgoing committee organized the program on the occasion of handing over the responsibility of the organization to its newly elected committee.
Minister Anisul Huq said it was stated in an editorial published recently that the journalists have not seen any directive from the Home Ministry about sending the case filed under the DSA to the cell.
“When any departmental directive is issued, its copy is not circulated,” he said.
He said the DSA has been formulated in order to tackle the cybercrimes which are committed digitally, not to curtail the freedom of press and expression.
There are some offences, mentioned in the Penal Code, which are committed digitally now a days and those crimes cannot be tried under the Penal Code as this code permit trial of the crimes committed physically only.
The DSA has been made for the trial of the crimes, like Bangladesh Bank reserve heist, committed digitally, he said.
Anisul Huq said, “We had talked to the Editors’ Council and Association of Television Channel Owners when the Digital Security Act was formulated and accordingly, the law was amended and modified.”
He said the government formulated the Personal Data Protection Act ensuring the independence of press and expression after consulting with the stakeholders.
“I have already talked to the Information Minister and will further talk to him so that OTTO platform regulation is not contradictory to the Constitution and freedom of press and expression,” he added.
Law and Justice Division Secretary Md Golam Sarwar, its Joint Secretary Bikash Kumar Saha, newly elected LRF President Ashutosh Sarkar and its General Secretary Ahmed Sarwar Hossain Bhuiyan, among others, spoke in the program.
