ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate on Tuesday granted pre-arrest bail to daughter of the Supreme Court judge in a hit and run case in which two persons were killed as she surrendered after absconding for over two years.

Judicial magistrate Kamran Zaheer Abbasi took up the petition of Shanza Malik, daughter of Supreme Court Judge Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan seeking her pre-arrest bail in the FIR registered in the Khanna Police Station, Islamabad.

Her counsel Mohammad Siddique Awan argued before the court that she has maliciously been implicated in the case by the complainant and the police, with ulterior motives to blackmail and harass the petitioner’s family.

He pointed out that the police invoked section 322 (causing death by rash or negligent driving) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against Ms Malik which was non-bailable, whereas, she had obtained a valid driving licence and the relevant section was 320 (causing death without intent) of the PPC, which is a bailable offence.

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Assistant District Public Prosecutor Rana Hassan Abbas opposed the arguments and requested the court to dismiss the bail petition.

The judge observed that since the petitioner holds a valid driving licence, therefore, she could not charged with the section applied against her.

He then deleted section 322 with section 320 of the PPC. He further observed that after deletion of section 322 from the charges, Ms Malik was now entitled to be released on bail.

The judge granted her bail against Rs30,000 surety bonds. Advocate Awan also requested the court to cancel the non-bailable warrants issued against Ms Malik.

The judge noted that since there is no record of any summons issued to the petitioner, no any indication that the petitioner was notified of her involvement in the case after over two years of registration of case. Since the petition has appeared before the court, the non-bailable warrants issued against her have been cancelled, the judge ruled.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2024