ISLAMABAD: A local court, on Thursday, granted bail to a senior journalist in a case registered on a charge of sharing and propagating highly intimidating content on social media.
The Special Judge Central, Shahrukh Arjumand, while hearing Muhammad Khalid Jamil’s bail plea granted him bail against the surety bonds of Rs50,000.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested him on September 22 from his residence. The agency registered the First Information Report (FIR) against the journalist under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and Section 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PCC).
At the start of the hearing, police produced Jameel and a record of the case before the court.
Naveed Malik, Jamil’s counsel, while arguing before the court, said that both the allegations levelled against his client are baseless and false.
Article 19 of the constitution guaranteed the freedom of expression, he said, adding that the PECA Act had been challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and declared null and void.
He said that the court had declared Section 20 of the PECA Act unconstitutional, therefore, action could not be taken under this section.
The FIA prosecution, while objecting to Jamil’s bail application, said that if one looks at the accused’s tweets it frames a special narrative.
The trends run on the Twitter target institutions, he said, adding that such activities damage the country’s integrity.
He said that such cases had already been registered and the case registered against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Azam Swati is one example.
The court, after hearing arguments, reserved its verdict for some time.
Later, while announcing its verdict, granted Jamil bail against the surety bond of Rs50,000.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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