LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday reserved its decision on the bail petition of a suspect in the case of uploading fake videos of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari on social media.

Chief Justice Aalia Neelum heard the plea as the minister’s lawyer, Ali Bokhari, opposed the bail, arguing that the suspect was not entitled to the relief under any circumstances.

He said the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had also found the suspect guilty.

Deputy Attorney General Rafaqat Dogar informed the court that the suspect shared a fake video with commentary, which constitutes a crime under the law.

The chief justice inquired that although the petitioner, Ali Hassan Toor, was nominated in the FIR, the uploaded video appears to be his own video.

“Uploading a personal video and mentioning someone in it are two different matters,” the chief justice observed.

She further noted that what the suspect said in his video would be determined during the trial.

The chief justice said serious reports regarding the alleged fake video had been submitted to the court, however, there were millions of such videos on social media.

She also expressed her displeasure over the delay in submission of the forensic report. She asked an FIA official to what extent the investigating officer had fixed the responsibility on the suspect based on the alleged fake videos.

The official said the challan (charge sheet) of the case had been submitted to the trial court.

The petitioner’s counsel, Azhar Siddique, argued that the fake video being mentioned was not shared from the suspect’s account. The suspect did not share even a single fake video from his account, he added.

“If this is proven otherwise, we are ready to withdraw the bail application,” said the counsel.

After hearing the arguments from all sides, the chief justice reserved the verdict on the bail petition.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2025