KARACHI: A judicial magistrate granted bail to six suspects including two Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) officials in a case pertaining to the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) paper leak.

The suspects — Faud Sheikh, Manthar Ali, Muhammad Farooque, Tariq Aziz, Shah Afandyar and Shariz Bilal — had filed applications before Judicial Magistrate (Malir) Piyar Ali Khoso, after the direction of sessions judge to decide the bail pleas.

After hearing the state prosecutor and defence counsel Pir Asadullah Shah Rashdi, the court granted bail to the suspects against a surety bond of Rs100,000 each with a PR bond for the court’s satisfaction.

The court observed that the role of suspects in the FIR was not described which required further investigation.

“The forensic report is still awaited. Thus, the involvement of the accused is yet to be determined after recording evidence,” the court observed, adding that the alleged offences were bailable in nature and didn’t fall under the prohibitory clause.

It also noted that the physical custody of the suspects was not required, and the sections invoked in the FIR did not fall within the ambit of the prohibitory clause.

During the argument, the state prosecutor opposed the bail application and alleged that they were involved in the crime.

On the other hand, defence counsel Rashdi argued that the content of the FIR failed to disclose the motives behind the alleged incident.

He contended that no eyewitness was mentioned in the incident, adding that they are permanent residents of Karachi and there is no apprehension of the suspects absconding or tampering with the prosecution witnesses.

Earlier, the same court had returned the post-arrest bail applications of six suspects for lacking jurisdiction. However, the order was challenged before District and Sessions Judge (Malir) Zahoor Ahmed Hakro.

In its order, the court set aside the magistrate’s impugned order and directed the suspects to file a fresh bail application before the magistrate, who was instructed to decide the plea in accordance with the law.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2025