HC rule on ACC Act

The High Court has issued a rule, asking why the clause in the Anti Corruption Commission Act to penalise someone for providing ‘false information’ will not be annulled and declared unconstitutional. The bench of Justice Quazi Reza Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain issued the rule on Wednesday after initial hearings of a petition. Speaker of Parliament, Secretaries of the Cabinet Division, Prime Minister’s Office and Law Ministry and the Chairman of the ACC have been asked to come up with explanations by two weeks. Supreme Court lawyer Younus Ali Akand filed the petition and argued in the hearing while Deputy Attorney General Biswajit Roy argued for the state. “No one will come forward to provide information if this law prevails. Moreover, the corrupt are wealthy and can turn truth into lies and trap the provider of information. The ACC will anyway verify the information before taking action,” Akand claimed, justifying the petition he has filed. The amendment of the ACC Act, passed in November last year, has provisions to penalise someone for a minimum 2 years and a maximum 5 years in jail for providing information that turns out to be false. The Act says it will be also effective even for ACC or government officials. On Jan 30, the HC annulled another clause of the Act that required the ACC to secure government’s approval before suing government employees-officials, judges and magistrates, according to bdnews24.com.