The High Court had declared the ‘Contempt of Court Act, 2013’ illegal as the law was amended curbing the power of the Supreme Court and providing much protection to government officials and media.
The full text of the verdict was published over nine years after the High Court pronounced the verdict. Confirming the matter, Advocate Manzil Morshed, a lawyer of the Supreme Court, on Wednesday (November 16) said that he received the certified copy of the 38-page full text of verdict. On September 26 in 2013, the HC bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain pronounced the verdict after the final hearing of a writ petition on the issue of contempt.
Earlier on March 25 in 2013, two Supreme Court lawyers-- Advocate Asaduzzaman Siddiqui and Advocate Ayesha Khatun-- filed the writ petition with the High Court, claiming that sections IV, V, VI, VII, IX, X, XI, and XIII (2) of the Contempt of Court Act contradict the Sections 27, 108 and 112 of the country’s Constitution. Advocate Manzil Morshed is the lawyer for the writ petitioners.
According to the provisions, the court cannot issue any summon against any government official if they have committed contempt of court and contempt of court cases against them become ineffective just after their retirement.
The higher court observed that this law was curbing the powers of the Supreme Court. The judges had said that they did not want the news media's hand tied but they would not want anyone to overstep limits either. The law had provided government officials with protection in such a manner that it went against the spirit of the Constitution.
The ‘Contempt of Court Act, 2013’ was passed in the Parliament on February 23 in 2013, replacing the Contempt of Court Act of 1926.
Later, the two lawyers filed the writ petition challenging the validity of Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 13(2) of the law. On April 3 in 2013, the court had issued a ruling on the preliminary hearing. After the final hearing on the rule, the court announced the verdict on September 26 in 2013.
The state in that time filed an appeal, challenging the HC verdict and seeking suspension of the verdict. However, the Chamber Judge of the Supreme Court did not allow it. The petition was referred to the full bench on September 29 in 2013 by the-then Chamber Judge (now retired Chief Justice) Syed Mahmud Hossain. The full bench was supposed to hold a hearing on October 3 of that year.
The Cabinet Secretary, Secretary of the President’s Office, Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, Secretary of the Law Ministry and Secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat appealed to the Chamber Judge.