LAHORE: A sessions court on Wednesday granted post-arrest bail to fashion designer Khadija Shah in a cybercrime case pertaining to posting social media messages allegedly to incite people against the army during the May 9 riots.

Additional District & Sessions Judge Muhammad Nawaz Bhatti allowed the bail petition of Ms Shah after hearing the final arguments of her counsel and a prosecutor for the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

In his order, the judge noted that the petitioner, as per the FIR, disseminated hate messages on social media to destabilise the institutions of Pakistan.

The judge said the FIR was registered after a delay of five months, while the reasons for the delay had not been explained plausibly. Such inordinate delay in FIR registration cast serious doubts on the veracity of the story of the prosecution, he added.

The judge observed that an instant FIR was registered by the FIA, soon after the Lahore High Court granted bail to the petitioner in two criminal cases, having one of the same offences under section 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

As far as section 24-A of the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (Peca) 2016 is concerned, the judge said, the section of the law had already been deleted by a judicial magistrate at the time of granting the petitioner’s judicial remand.

The judge said the remaining two sections of law — 500 and 506 of the PPC — were bailable.

He said the only section that was non-bailable was 505 of the PPC, but the same did not fall within the prohibitory clause of section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The judge observed that the investigation had been completed and the petitioner was no more required for further investigation.

“In such a scenario to keep her [the petitioner] behind the bars would serve no purpose, particularly when the trial of the instant matter is not in sight in near future,” the judge maintained.

The judge directed the petitioner to furnish bail bonds of Rs100,000.

Shah’s release from prison is still not possible since she faces cases related to May 9 violence at the Jinnah House.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2023