PTI social media activist Falak Javed Khan was remanded in police custody for five days on Thursday, a day after her arrest by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
Javed was arrested by the agency in the case about fake videos of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari being uploaded on social media, her lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq said on Wednesday.
The activist was presented before a district court in Lahore today before Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo, with the NCCIA requesting 30 days of physical remand.
The remand order — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — states that Ashfaq argued that there was no material on record to justify Javed’s arrest.
“There are illegalities in [the] procedure of warrant and proclamation,” the order read, quoting Ashfaq. “There is nothing on record to show any material to support remand … there is no plausible reason for remand.
“There is [a] serious violation of Section 40 (forensic laboratory) [of] Peca, 2016,” he added “It was mandatory to establish an independent Forensic Lab, but said is not yet [established].”
The order added that the forensics lab, self-established by the Federal Investigation Agency, produces reports which have “no value in [the] eyes of [the] law”.
“IO (investigating officer) admitted that said viral clip is deleted on [the] Internet,” the order read. “After that, there is no need for remand.”
During the hearing, Ashfaq highlighted that the NCCIA is both the complainant and the investigating authority in its case.
According to the order, the NCCIA’s lawyers argued that Javed is the main suspect in this case and disseminated the videos of Bokhari.
“She did not join [the] investigation [and] arrest warrants were issued. She was not arrested,” they argued. “[A] proclamation order was also passed [and a] challan was submitted [under section] 512 (Record of evidence in absence of accused) [of the] CrPC (Criminal Code of Procedure) extent to ]the] accused.
“The accused’s mobile phone must be forensically examined,” the lawyers argued in the hearing.
The NCCIA’s lawyers added that the forensics laboratory was set up for the agency under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016 and that if it was not established separately, then that was on the part of the federal government and should have no impact on the quality of its reports.
“Deletion of [the] objectionable video does not declare [the] accused to be considered as acquitted,” it added. “Recovery is yet to be affected. It is [the] first remand … therefore, it is held that [the] contentions of IO are plausible for remand.”
The magistrate awarded five days of physical remand to Javed, noting that she could not be remanded under Section 167 of the CrPC (procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours).
He directed that the jail superintendent keep Javed in custody until September 30, when she is to be produced at the next hearing and sought a report on the investigation from the NCCIA by then.
Bokhari had sought action last year in July against the persons involved in sharing her edited images on social media. She alleged that Falak edited and spread her images on social media. The minister said a request was made to the FIA under Peca to take action against Falak and others, but the agency did not take any action.
The minister argued that she had been defamed on social media and that her constitutional rights had been violated. In her petition, she asked the court to order the FIA to take action against the respondents and submit a compliance report.