LEGAL IMPLICATION OF CORONA VIRUS IN BANGLADESH Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) has been declared as an internal public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) which has infected millions of people worldwide. From Wuhan province of China, it has radically spread to other countries including Bangladesh. Laws such as the Contagious Diseases (Prevention, Control and Eradication) Act 2018 (CDA 2018) have been enacted with the view to preventing, curing and eradicating contagious diseases. Under CDA 2018, the Directorate General for Health Services (DGHS) is responsible for taking appropriate measures regarding contagious diseases, including, but not limited to, purifying/destroying products of infected persons, putting an infected person in quarantine, etc. CDA 2018 further provides penalties for persons spreading contagious diseases advertently, obstructing the DG or other personnel in discharging their duties, etc. Moreover, Section Nos. 269 to 271 of the Penal Code 1860 can be very relevantly invoked to punish the people, who may risk the spreading of the novel coronavirus and /or violate the order of quarantine. Furthermore, an order under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (or similar provisions for the metropolitan areas) may be imposed against such persons those who are not abiding by the order of quarantine. In addition to that, the Hon’ble High Court Division has also given an oral direction for the checking of foreign nationals while entering Bangladesh, preparatory measures to be taken by public and private hospitals and the Government to import emergency equipment, if needed. However, it is clearly visible that a lot of people have zero knowledge about the seriousness to the entire issue of COVID-19 and people those who have the minimum knowledge have been seen to be panicking after having even a simple, viral flu. Although the Government has adopted a few measures, such as production of masks, introducing COVID-19 helpline, briefing IEDCR, closing down schools, colleges, etc., it is still insufficient if we come to analyze the catastrophic effect COVID-19 may bring to our country. In view of the above it seems that laws do exist to provide ways to take effective measures, however, it would not be operative unless it is rigorously applied, creating a strong sense of awareness amongst mass people and compelling them to follow it in order to fight COVID-19. CURRENT AFFAIRS The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election was held on March 11 & 12, 2020: Advocate AM Amin Uddin has been elected as the President while Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal has been elected as the General Secretary. The Ministry of Public Administration issued a ……….gazette notification stating that the chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will now enjoy the rank and status of a High Court judge. Furthermore, BTRC vice-chairman and commissioners have been given the status of secretary and additional secretary of the government respectively. What is Heba? As per the Muslim Law, an inter vivos (between living persons) gift is called Heba. Transferring any right or interest of property whether movable or immovable from one living person to another without any exchange or consideration is called Gift/Heba. Heba is a very popular method of transferring the title of immovable properties amongst close family members in Bangladesh. JERA Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought more Japanese investment in the power and energy sector of the country to meet the growing demand of electricity while the president of JERA Co. Inc, the largest electricity producing firm in Japan, Satoshi Onoda was called on at her office. Mr. Onoda further informed that with the joint venture of Reliance Bangladesh Power and LNG Company, they are setting up a 718MW power plant in Meghnaghat which will be into operation by 2022. The JERA president said that they have already set up a 335MW power plant in joint venture with Summit Power Ltd of Bangladesh and also desirous to establish some more power plants in joint venture with Summit. Mr. Onoda also said that the Summit-JERA-Mitsubishi Consortium has already submitted an expression of interest (EOI) to the government for setting up an LNG terminal in Matarbari, Cox’s Bazar. Income Tax Threshold: If an individual’s taxable income is more than BDT 250,000.00 then he/she is liable to pay income tax as per the Finance Act 2020-2021. So, the threshold for an individual is BDT 250,000.00 per year but in some cases this limit may vary. The followings are the minimum threshold for different categories: PRO-BONO WORKS: PUBLICTAIONS AND TV SHOWS (JANUARY 2020-MARCH 2020) Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana answered two of the selected questions among various legal issues faced by the readers in readers question section | Prothom Alo | January 8, 2020. https://bit.ly/2JgmOIW Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana answered two of the selected questions among various legal issues faced by the readers in readers question section | Prothom Alo | January 15, 2020. https://bit.ly/39okkmd “The rules to follow” | Dhaka Tribune | January 21, 2020 | by Barrister Omar H. Khan, Managing Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/2QLvueu “Sexual harrassment at workplace” | The Daily Observer | January 25, 2020|by Barrister Nuzhath Islam, Associate of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/33SuQRJ “The consequences of possessing Kangaroo hides” | The Daily Star | February 4, 2020 | by Barrister Omar H. Khan, Managing Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/2WKCxrO “Competition law and sustainable development” | Dhaka Tribune | January 31, 2020 | by Barrister Omar H. Khan, Managing Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/3dv5zBz “Protection of Intellectual Property through Trademarks” | The Daily Observer | February 8, 2020 | by Barrister Atmaja Bhattacharjee Swarna, Associate of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/3amH33o “Festival Holiday” | The Daily Observer | February 22, 2020 | by Farhana Azad, Associate of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/3akb58f Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana answered two of the selected questions among various legal issues faced by the readers in readers question section | Prothom Alo | February 26, 2020. https://bit.ly/3bsGiGs Laws of Nomination: Banks need to set the right practice | Dhaka Tribune | March 2, 2020 | by Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/2WV5O39 Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana had women’s day special talk with the Business Standard on “ what it takes to break the glass ceiling” | March 8, 2020. https://bit.ly/39lQoHE Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana writes about Òcwiw¯’wZ †gvKv‡ejvq AvB‡bi cÖ‡qvMÓ (the implementation of law is urgently needed in order to deal with the current pandemic COVID-19) | Prothom Alo | March 16, 2020. https://bit.ly/2y7uE5f Asian Table Talk, year ending special episode as to “‡Kgb wQj bvix‡`i Rb¨ 2019Ó (how was 2019 for women) | Asian Tv | December 31, 2019 | by Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/3dt87QB New Year special talk show on ÒbZyb eQi bZyb m¤¢vebvÓ (starting New Year with new hope) | ATN NEWS | January 1, 2020 | by Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/33LhMgY ÓwmwU wbe©vPb I ivRbxwZi DËvcÓ | Jamuna TV | January 02, 2020 | by Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/2WFnaki Òeû weev‡ni e¨vcv‡i AvBb wK e‡jÓ (Laws of polygamy) | Shomadhan Sutra | DBC NEWS | January 05, 2020 | by Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/3bq0ubH Òe¨emv ïiyi AvBwb cª¯‘wZÓ (Startup laws) | Shomadhan Sutro | DBC NEWS | January 12, 2020 | By Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/3ajCDdD ÒPv‡qi Pygy‡KÓ | ATN Bangla | January 22, 2020 | By Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/33MpSFZ ÒAvgvi †gqiÓ | Asian Tv Talk Show | January 30, 2020 | by Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/2Un3Erj Òm¤úwË †iwR‡÷«kb AvBbÓ (laws related to Registration Act) | Somadhan Sutro | DBC NEWS | February 9, 2020 | By Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/2wDgZ5E Watch the whole team of Legal Counsel | Ekushey TV | Career Guide Show on “Career as a Lawyer” | February 10, 2020. https://bit.ly/2WFXsfz Ò‡U«W jvB‡mÝ Kivi AvBwb cÖwμqvÓ (legal procedure for obtaining a trade license) | Somadhan Sutra | DBC NEWS | February 16, 2020 | by Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/2UiXzvH Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana live at Channel I | February 23, 2020. https://bit.ly/2QLGrN8 Òwn›`y AvBb Abyhvqx we‡q I we‡”Q`Ó (Hindu Marriage Law) | Somadhan Sutro | DBC News | February 24, 2020 | by Barrister Miti Sanjana, Partner of Legal Counsel. https://bit.ly/3bw5yv9 Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana had special talk show program of International Women’s Day on ÒA_©bxwZ‡Z bvixi AR©bÓ with Channel I | March 8, 2020. https://bit.ly/2Un5mcd Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana talks in the special episode of the table talk on the International Women’s Day | Asian TV Talk Show | March 8, 2020. https://bit.ly/3bsOmXs Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana talks about Òm¤úwË e›Ub: Kb¨v mš—v‡bi AwaKviÓ (daughter’s inheritance right in their father’s property) | Somadhan Sutro | DBC NEWS | March, 16, 2020. https://bit.ly/2QPihS2 Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana talks about ÒK‡ivbv fvBiv‡mi we¯—vi †iv‡a AvB‡bi c«‡qvMÓ (the implementation of law in order to prevent the spread of corona Virus | Channel I | March 20, 2020. https://bit.ly/3bp3Uvt Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana had discussion on ÒK‡ivbv `y‡h©v‡M Avgiv wK KiwQ ?Ó (the legal aspects of contagious disease and quarantine) | Ekattor Tv | March 21, 2020. https://bit.ly/39ovM1b Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana talks about the contagious disease and quarantine | Sokaler Bangladesh | Jamuna Tv | March 22, 2020. https://bit.ly/2vVQmbE Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana talks about Òe¨emvqx AvBbÓ (Business law) | ATN Bangla Talk Show | March 22, 2020. https://bit.ly/2QY3EM2 Partner of Legal Counsel, Barrister Miti Sanjana had discussion on ÒK‡ivbv fvBivm †gvKv‡ejvq AvB‡bi c«‡qvMÓ (application of law in combating Corona virus) | Somadhan Sutro | DBC NEWS | March 23, 2020. https://bit.ly/3dypEH1 PUBLICATIONS TV SHOWS AND INTERVIEWS Momtaz Vision – B4 (Level-2), House-11/A, Road-99, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh Phone: +88028835174-6, Fax: +88028835176, Email : [email protected], Web : www.legalcounselbd.com Types of Person Women & tax payers of 65 years or more Person with disability Gazetted freedom fighter 300,000.00 400,000.00 425,000.00