DHAKA, May 19, 2019 (BSS) – Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq today said there is no bar on media reporting on under-trial cases but media shall not publish personal opinion on cases, those are stuck.
He came up with the observations while talking to newsmen after coming out of meeting with envoys of Switzerland, Sweden, the UN and UNDP at his ministry office this noon.
When asked about High Court’s recent direction on not to publish report on under-trial cases, the minister said, “I want to tell you clearly, there is a meaning of expression ‘sub-judice’. Sub judice is such a case which is under-trial but the trial proceeding is not going on. Supreme Court has talked about not to give personal opinion about that type of under trial cases, whose proceeding is not going on.”
The minister said he doesn’t think that the apex court has directed about stopping reporting on any under trial cases.
“If you start giving opinion about under-trial cases, thing that will happen is there will be a media trial. A kind of pressure will be created on the judges, that is why they have said these. I want to make it clear, you have to separate the reporting and expressing personal opinion,” he added.