LAHORE: A sessions court on Tuesday dismissed post-arrest bail petition of anchorperson Orya Maqbool Jan in a cybercrime case pertaining to alleged hate speech against the top judge of the country.

Additional District & Sessions Judge Rafaqat Ali Qamar dismissed the petition after hearing the arguments by Advocate Mian Ali Ashfaq, the counsel for Jan.

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The petitioner’s counsel argued that the case registered by the FIA was based solely on assumptions and that the agency neither had any evidence nor any proof on record. He said the petitioner was in judicial lock-up and the investigation had been completed.

He said there was no need to keep the petitioner behind bars. He asked the court to grant bail to Jan.

A lawyer for the FIA opposed the bail petition, saying ample evidence had been presented before the trial court against the suspect. After hearing the arguments from the lawyers of both sides, the judge reserved his decision, which he later announced, rejecting bail plea.

At a previous hearing, the anchorperson claimed that he was only arrested on the basis of his views. He said neither of his social media posts was tantamount to glorification of any offence or hate speech rather making a fair comment on a judgement issued by the SC.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2024