KARACHI, May 31: A sessions court on Thursday refused a bail application of a suspect in the murder case of a senior journalist.

Waqas along with an absconding accomplice has been charged with killing Murtaza Razvi, the senior assistant editor and head of Dawn’s magazines, who was found dead in an art studio within the remit of the Darakhshan police station on April 19. The suspect through his counsel moved a bail application and the additional district and sessions judge (south), Abdul Razzaq, refused bail after hearing both sides.

Referring to some contentions of the defence counsel over delay in the registration of the FIR and not holding an identification parade through the last seen witness, the court ruled that the parade was a rule of prudence and not of evidence while a mere delay in the registration of a case was not fatal if no enmity existed between the parties.

“In view of the above, the bail application of the suspect appears to be premature and is dismissed with above tentative observations,” it concluded.

The police detained the suspect on April 23 in Gizri and said that after committing the murder, the suspect with his accomplice also took away the cellphone and other valuables of the victim.  A case (FIR 159/12) was registered under Sections 302 (punishment for premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the PPC at the Darakhshan police station.