BTRC regulations exempt ministers and officials

Media reports said the regulations finalized by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), exempting ministers and government officials is questionable. It is said that if anyone faces any financial loss for any work done in good faith by ministers and government officials, a lawsuit cannot be filed against them claiming compensation. The commission has already submitted the final draft of the regulation titled ‘Regulation for Digital and Social Media Platforms, 2021’ to the High Court.
The new clause called indemnity, the gist of which is that if any person is harmed by reason of any act done in good faith in execution of any order or direction under this regulation, the person cannot file any case seeking compensation against a minister or any government officials. Even cases cannot be filed against the chairman or any other officer, employee or consultant of the Commission. However, the term ‘good faith’ as defined in the regulation is not ‘good’ at all. The court will decide who is guilty and who is innocent. State institutions do not run on ‘good faith’, they run on the basis of law. So, if good faith is taken into account in the case of government officials, why can’t others enjoy the same?
 According to legal experts, such a case will not stand in court. The provision in the Public Servants Act to seek permission from higher authorities for arrest before filing a charge sheet against an accused official has been challenged in court. This law, they think, will also be repealed. Article 10 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also refer to the right to access to justie in a competent court. Thus, the indemnity of government officials in the regulation is in conflict with our constitution. This indemnity provision will only create opportunities for committing more corruption.
Almost every day, corruption captures the newspaper headlines in one form or another. It is present in business, food, agriculture, medicine, health, education, customs, banking, judiciary, police, civil and military bureaucracy, and politics, to name a few. It causes the most suffering for ordinary people as they feel the punch whenever they have to take services from a government office. No file moves from one table to another without a bribe. It’s called ‘speed money.’