The High Court has said that practice of collecting call list from public or private telecommunications companies without any formal requisition and formal seizure, and also beyond the permission of a subscriber must be stopped.
The HC bench of Justice Md Shawkat Hossain, Justice Md Ruhul Quddus and Justice ASM Abdul Mobin made the observation in their full verdict released on Supreme Court website on September 26.
Earlier on August 28, 2019 the HC bench pronounced a brief verdict acquitting condemned prisoner Oli of the charges of abduction and murder of child Shaikat in Netrokona on February 15, 2010.
“It is our common experience that nowadays private communications between the citizens including their audios/videos are often leaked and published in social media for different purposes. We must not forget that the citizens’ right to privacy in correspondence and other means of communication is guaranteed under article 44 of the Constitution which cannot be easily violated at the instance of any interested quarter,” the court said in the verdict.
The verdict also said, “Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and the phone companies operating in Bangladesh have a great responsibility towards proper compliance of the Constitutional mandate of maintaining privacy in communication. They cannot provide any information relating to communication of their subscribers and the citizens of the Country, unless it is permissible in law matched with the Constitution.”
“So, when the Investigating Officers in relation to particular investigation/inquiry require any call lists or information relating the someone’s communication, they must make a formal request to the authorities concerned of the respective company/office stating his reason why it is necessary for that investigation/inquiry, not in a roving and fishing manner,” said the verdict.
"Only in that case the phone companies have obligation to supply the call list or information within the knowledge of the subscriber. Otherwise the supplied documents would lose its evidentiary value and the supplying person/authority would also be liable for aiding violation of one’s fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution,” the HC bench said in the full text of verdict.
nh/wi
