The High Court (HC) on Tuesday issued a rule asking as to why law should not be enacted to ensure ‘rational punishment’ for hurting religious sentiments.
An HC bench comprising Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Asif Hasan issued the rule after a preliminary hearing of a writ petition.
The Law Ministry Secretary and other officials concerned were asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
Lawyer Md. Golam Kibria represented the petitioner.
The petition, filed on November 30, seeks directives to introduce death penalty as the maximum punishment in cases over hurting religious sentiments.
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Currently, under the Bangladesh Penal Code and the Cybersecurity Act, the punishment for such offenses is limited to two years of imprisonment, said lawyer Kibria
During the hearing, Kibria emphasized that introducing stricter penalties would prevent individuals from committing these crimes in the future.