HC freezes ICT case against actress Nawshaba for 6 months

The High Court has put a freeze on the legal proceedings against actress Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed in an ICT case charging her with spreading rumours on Facebook.

Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty on Wednesday stayed the proceedings for six months and issued a rule asking why the case should not be scrapped.

The bench has given the government four weeks to respond to the rule.

Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua appeared in court on behalf of Nawshaba while Deputy Attorney General Aminur Rahman Chowdhury Tiku represented the state.

Jyotirmoy pointed out the Digital Security Act passed in April has replaced the provisions of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act under which the case against Nawshaba was filed.

"Section 61 of the Digital Security Act allows sub-judice cases under the ICT Act to continue. But the charges in this case were filed on Apr 30 this year and framed on Sept 3. Therefore, the proceedings are illegal,” the lawyer said. 

Nawshaba went live on Facebook on the afternoon of Aug 4 and claimed two protesters had been killed and another had his eyes gouged out during clashes at Jigatala, a neighbourhood in Dhaka. She, however, was at a shooting site at Uttara at that time.

The law enforcers detained her later that day and police started a case against her under the ICT Act.