Evidence (Amend.) Bill-2022 placed in Jatiya Sangsad

Evidence (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was placed on Wednesday in the Jatiya Sangsad, keeping the provision of making digital evidence admissible in court, reports BSS.
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq placed the bill in the House with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
With this amendment, digital evidence will be acceptable in trial, according to the draft law.
The proposed law will replace the Evidence Amendment Act 1872, said the minister.
Maintaining decency while cross-examining a victim in the courtroom has also been incorporated in the proposed law. "The court can decide what kind of questions a victim should be asked," he said.
The practice of submitting evidence online began with the inception of virtual courts amid the Covid pandemic. But there is nothing specific about "online or digital evidence" in the existing Evidence Act, said the cabinet secretary.
With the current law in place, legal complications might arise if any aggrieved person files a petition with the higher court, challenging the verdict of the lower court that had accepted such evidence during virtual trials, he explained.