Kathmandu, January 3

Lawyers, human rights activists and journalists have urged the government to withdraw Information Technology Bill from the Parliament, saying the bill proposed to curtail constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.

A meeting of lawyers, rights activists and journalists held here today concluded that the IT Bill proposed to curtail people’s freedom of expression, right to privacy, right to communication and their right to justice.

The group said as per the constitutional provisions, questions related to justice could be decided only by the competent court,  but contrary to this, the government has proposed in the bill that anybody could be detained, indicted and their stuffs confiscated for no reasonable ground. Prominent lawyers, editors and rights activists had taken part in the discussion.