The Chief Justice of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, Syed Mahmud Hossain, has said that the court would not consider granting bail to those tarnishing the country’s image, and added the "image of the country is the first priority.” 

According to a report on Daily Star, the Chief Justice warned the people against posting “abusive and indecent comments” on social media, and asked, “how educated people could do such things.”

"We are cautioning that we will not consider granting bail to those who tarnish the country's image in any manner. It has to be kept in mind that the image of the country is the first priority,” the chief justice was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

The comment came when a three-judge bench of the Bangladesh Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by the government challenging a high court ruling when a 61-year-old person had been granted bail in a case registered under the country’s notorious Digital Security Act. 

The Supreme court, despite the remark, upheld the high court ruling of granting bail to the accused on medical grounds.

The Digital Security Act of Bangladesh recently also came under the radar of the international community after a writer, who had been arrested under the act for his adverse comment against the country, died under police custody. Several rights organizations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), called the government to review the law.

The OHCHR also expressed its “grave concern” on the way the government had been invoking the act to clampdown on critics, writers, and activists, and political activists. The act, it claimed, suppresses the freedom of expression and free speech in the country.

Furthermore, the UN body also called for the release of all people arrested and imprisoned under the act.