LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday dismissed an appeal of the Punjab government seeking cancellation of post-arrest bail granted to the PML-N MNA Javed Latif in a case of allegedly uttering anti-state remarks and inciting people to a mutiny.

A sessions court had released the MNA on bail on June 9, 2021, while the government, through the Punjab prosecutor general, filed the appeal in the LHC on June 15.

The appeal says the MNA made a statement against the state institutions. It says the session court released the respondent on bail ignoring facts of the case.

Arguing that the offences included in the FIR are not bailable, it asks the LHC to set aside the bail granting order of the sessions court.

A counsel for Latif argued that the government did not approach the court with clean hands.

He said the government concealed the details of the interim pre-arrest bail granted to the respondent.

He said the sessions court granted the post-arrest bail to the respondent after going through the complete record of the case. He said the offences included in the FIR were bailable.

After hearing both sides, Justice Anwarul Haq Pannun dismissed the government’s appeal and upheld the sessions court’s decision.

Township police had registered the FIR on a complaint of a citizen, Jamil Saleem, under sections 120/120B, 153/153A, 500, 505(i)(B) and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The sections deal with the offences of causing incitement against the state institutions, including the army, and promoting enmity between different groups.

In a television programme, Latif had said his party won’t say “Pakistan Khappay” (long live Pakistan) if any harm was caused to its vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif. He was arrested on April 27, 2021 after the dismissal of his pre-arrest bail.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2022