No scope to revoke cases filed under DSA, no question of compensation: Minister

Law minister Anisul Huq said there is no scope to revoke the cases filed under Digital Security Act (DSA) and no question of compensation to the victims of the act.

The minister said this while replying to a tabled question by Gono Forum lawmaker Mokabbir Khan in the parliament session on Thursday. The question was tabled at the beginning of the session presided by deputy speaker Shamsul Haque.

The parliament on Wednesday passed Cyber Security Act replacing it with the controversial DSA.

Mokabbir Khan in his question asked if the government would compensate those who had already been harassed and jailed due to misuse of the DSA. He further wanted to know from the law minister as how the cases would be resolved.

In reply, the minister said the position of the law is that, concerning the offences committed under the old law, the court is bound to sentence the offenders in accordance to the old law.

He invoked Article 35 of constitution that states, “No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than, or different from, that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence.”

The law minister said as per the new law there is no scope to cancel the ongoing cases filed under the DSA and the trials would continue according to the previous law.