JS Coverage
Bill seeks media immunity
A private member's bill was submitted to the Parliament Secretariat yesterday seeking to introduce a provision for providing the print and electronic media with immunity from prosecution for airing or publishing reports on parliamentary proceedings.
Ruling Awami League lawmaker Saber Hossain Chowdhury submitted the bill with a notice to place it in the House on September 19 as the Jatiya Sangsad goes into session on September 12.
Saber yesterday at a programme drew the attention of Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to place the bill in parliament.
If the bill is ratified by the JS, it would be a major breakthrough for media freedom to ensure better coverage of parliamentary proceedings.
The proposed legislation says if a media house reports on parliamentary proceedings without any distortion, nobody can take it to the court.
The media house, however, might face prosecution if it runs any report without objectivity and against people's interest. In that case, the accused may be faced with a fine of Tk 50,000 and sentenced to two years in jail.
As per a constitutional provision, lawmakers enjoy such immunity from prosecution. Article 78 (3) of the constitution says a member of parliament shall not be liable to proceedings in any court in respect of anything said, or any vote given by him in the House or in any committee thereof.
Parliament Secretariat officials, involved in publication of any report, paper, vote or proceedings by or under the authority of parliament, also enjoy the same constitutional immunity.
In the absence of such protection, newspapers and television channels face difficulties in running reports on parliamentary proceedings fearing prosecution.
Sometimes, they partly censor reports in fear of defamation or contempt of court. This deprives people of being informed about the exact discussions in the House or in parliamentary committees.
Defending the proposed legislation, Saber Hossain Chowdhury said the Jatiya Sangsad is the centre of all activities of the country. In a democratic governance system, all national issues are discussed in parliament. Debates are also held in parliament before making any policy decision, he added.
So, the media need to publish and broadcast parliamentary proceedings as they are to aware people about the discussions held in the House. Considering all these aspects, the law has been drafted, said the legislator in a brief statement tagged with the copy of the bill.
Talking to The Daily Star, senior BNP leader Moudud Ahmed lauded the proposed legislation. He said he would support the bill in the House.
“We should have enacted such a law much earlier for the protection of media to cover parliamentary proceedings,” mentioned the former law minister.
Prof Nizam Uddin Ahmed, a teacher at Chittagong University and a parliamentary affairs expert, also welcomed the move.
“It would empower the media to ensure extensive coverage of parliamentary proceedings, which would contribute to strengthening parliament,” he told this newspaper yesterday.
The Indian parliament long ago had made such legislation. A few years ago, it amended the constitution to ensure protection for media.
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