This document summarizes key laws around offenses relating to religion and elections in Bangladesh. It outlines that the Bangladesh constitution ensures secularism and prohibits discrimination based on religion. The penal code establishes offenses for damaging or defiling places of worship, outraging religious feelings, and disturbing religious assemblies. For elections, the penal code prohibits undue influence, personation, bribery, false statements, and failure to keep proper expense accounts. The document provides an overview of Bangladesh's election system and key offenses around maintaining free and fair elections.

1. Welcome

2. Presented by:
Md. Nazmul HasanMd. Nazmul Hasan
(Fahim)(Fahim)
ID: LLBRM25141012, LLB (Hon’s),
Department of law, BIU

3. Offence relating to
Religion and
Election

4. Offence
• a breach of a law or rule; an illegal act.
• annoyance or resentment brought about
by a perceived insult to or disregard for
oneself or one's standards or principles.

5. Religion
• the belief in and worship of a superhuman
controlling power, especially a personal
God or gods.
• a particular system of faith and worship.
• a pursuit or interest to which someone
ascribes supreme importance.

6. Election
• a formal and organized process of electing
or being elected, especially of members of
a political body.
• the act or an instance of electing.

7. Freedom of Religion by BD
Constitution
• Under Article 12:
• The principle of secularism shall be realized by
the elimination of -
(a) communalism in all its forms ;
(b) the granting by the State of political status in
favor of any religion ;
(c) the abuse of religion for political purposes ;
(d) any discrimination against, or persecution of,
persons practicing a particular religion.

8. • Offence relating to Religion
under The Penal Code

9. Injuring or defiling place of worship
• Under sec- 295 of The Penal code: Whoever
destroys, damages or defiles any place of
worship, or any object held sacred by any class
of persons with the intention of thereby insulting
the religion of any class of persons or with the
knowledge that any class of persons is likely to
consider such destruction, damage or defilement
as an insult to their religion, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to two years, or with fine,
or with both.

10. Deliberate and malicious acts intended to
outrage religious feelings
• Under sec- 295(A) of The Penal code:
• Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention
of outraging the religious feelings of any class of
the citizens of Bangladesh, by words, either
spoken or written, or by visible representations
insults or attempts to insult the religion or the
religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to two years, or with fine,
or with both.

11. Disturbing religious assembly
• Under sec- 296 of The Penal code:
• Whoever voluntarily causes disturbance to
any assembly lawfully engaged in the
performance of religious worship, or
religious ceremonies, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for
a term which may extend to one year, or
with fine, or with both.

12. Punishment for offence relating to
religion
• Under sec- 298 of The Penal code:
• Whoever, with the deliberate intention of
wounding the religious feelings of any person,
utters any word or makes any sound in the
hearing of that person or makes any gesture in
the sight of that person or places any object in
the sight of that person, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extend to one year, or with fine, or
with both.

13. Election system of BD
• The Prime Minister is the head of the
government. The president who is the
head of the state is elected by the National
Parliament. ... Bangladesh has an
unofficial two-party system which has
evolved over time since the election of
1991.

14. • Offence relating to Election
under The Penal Code

15. Undue influence at Election
Under sec- 171C: (1) Whoever voluntarily
interferes or attempts to interfere with the
free exercise of any electoral right
commits the offence of undue influence at
an election.

16. • (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions
of sub-section (1), whoever
(a) threatens any candidate or voter, or any person in
whom a candidate or voter is interested, with injury of
any kind, or
(b) induces or attempts to induce a candidate or voter to
believe that he or any person in whom he is interested
will become or will be rendered an object of Divine
displeasure or of spiritual censure,
shall be deemed to interfere with the free exercise of the
electoral right of such candidate or voter, within the
meaning of sub-section (1).

17. Personation at
elections
• 171D. Whoever at an election applies for a
voting paper or votes in the name of any other
person, whether living or dead, or in a fictitious
name, or who having voted once at such
election applies at the same election for a voting
paper in his own name, and whoever abets,
procures or attempts to procure the voting by
any person in any such way, commits the
offence of personation at an election.

18. Punishment of bribery
• 171E. Whoever commits the offence of
bribery shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to one year, or
with fine, or with both:
Provided that bribery by treating shall be
punished with fine only.

19. False statement in
connection with an
election
• 171G. Whoever with intent to affect the
result of an election makes or publishes
any statement purporting to be a
statement of fact which is false and which
he either knows or believes to be or does
not believe to be true, in relation to the
personal character or conduct of any
candidate shall be punished with fine.

20. Failure to keep election
accounts
• 171-I. Whoever being required by any law
for the time being in force on any rule
having the force of law to keep accounts
of expenses incurred at or in connection
with an election fails to keep such
accounts shall be punished with fine which
may extend to five hundred taka.

21. Any Question

22. Thanks for
sTay wiTh
me