Is it legal to check mobile phones in name of searching?

The law enforcement agencies have beefed up their activities in the capital city ahead of the prescheduled divisional rally of the de facto opposition BNP on 10 December. They have set up checkpoints at the entrances of the capital since Wednesday.

But, there are allegations that the policemen are unnecessarily harassing the commuters in the name of searching. They were seen taking the mobile phones of the people and checking the photos and messages.

A question has now come to the fore whether such deliberate searches of mobile phones are legal or not.

Palash, along with his 15-year-old son Anik, was riding a motorbike towards Mirpur in the capital, via the Tongi bridge. When they reached the bridge, some policemen stopped them and searched their bodies and belongings. At one stage, they took his mobile phone and checked messages and photos.

The father-son duo was detained from the spot, but managed to free themselves after earnest requests. Palash said, “I am an ordinary worker and not engaged in the politics of any party. Still, the police harassed me in such a way.” (Prothom Alo online, 7 December)

However, such searches have been claimed as part of regular duties of the police. According to the prevailing law, the police can conduct searches, but complying with some certain conditions. It has been alleged that these conditions were not met in the way they conducted the searches on Wednesday.

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua told Prothom Alo, “The right to move is endorsed in our constitution. The police cannot undermine this right in the name of search. According to the code of criminal procedure, rational suspicion is a must to search an individual. It means the police do not have the power to conduct deliberate searches. It is also against the directions of the High Court.”

Some people alleged that the police searched their phones for pictures and messages in addition to searching their bodies. It was a matter of extreme embarrassment and harassment for them.

Senior lawyer Shahdeen Malik said the mobile phones can contain personal and important messages, information or pictures. The police cannot see them during a search as it undermines the individual’s privacy.

“Privacy is an individual’s constitutional right. Therefore, such activities of the police are not in accordance with the constitution and law,” he noted.

It could not be known precisely how many people have been detained or arrested by the police during recent searches at various entry points in Dhaka. But it is explicit in the media reports that such searches are causing great suffering and harassment to the masses.

However, it is not an unprecedented practice here. They also harassed the people in the name of searches at checkpoints in the capital city before the 5 January election in 2014.

The common people expect that law enforcement agencies should refrain from activities that are not lawful and will cause suffering and harassment.