bail under ICT Act
Cyber Tribunal cannot hear petitions before police report: HC
STAFF REPORTER
The High Court (HC) yesterday ordered the Cyber Tribunal of Dhaka not to hear any bail petition filed under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act before the submission of police reports in those cases. The Cyber Tribunal of Dhaka cannot hear the bail petition in any case filed under the Information and Technology Act, said the HC bench of Justice Miftah Uddin Chowdhury and Justice ANM Bashir Ullah during the hearing of a bail petition filed by Ahmed Sabuj, a person accused under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act. Sabuj had sought bail from the HC after the Magura district and sessions judge refused to hear his bail plea. The HC bench granted bail to Sabuj. The HC bench also warned the judges of the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal and the Magura district and session judge for receiving and rejecting the bail applications of the accused, who sought bail in cases filed under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act. The Cyber Tribunal judge had received a bail application before the police report was filed, while the Magura district and sessions judge declined to hear a bail plea, although the police had submitted their report.
The HC bench asked the authorities concerned to send a copy of its order to all district and sessions courts and the chief judicial magistrates courts across the country.
On March 13, the same bench of the HC had sought a written statement from the district and sessions judge of Magura for refusing to hear a bail petition in the case. The court had also sought a written explanation from the judge of the Cyber Tribunal of Dhaka for holding a hearing on the bail petition by going beyond its jurisdiction. On Wednsday, both the judges submitted written explanations before the HC bench in accordance with its earlier order.
A case had been filed against Sabuj, a resident of the Mohammadpur upazila in Magura district, under Section 57 of the ICT Act, for posting an anti-government status on Facebook. Later, Sabuj filed a bail petition at the Magura magistrates court, but the appeal was rejected. On November 17 last year, Sabuj filed another petition with the district and sessions court, but the court refused to hear the petition. He, then, filed a petition with the Cyber Tribunal in the capital, but that plea was rejected as well. Finally, Sabujs lawyer moved the HC for bail. Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajal and advocate Amimul Ehsan Jubayer stood for the petitioner, while deputy attorney general Moniruzzaman Kabir argued for the state.
