A judicial magistrate on Monday granted bail to 24 PTI leaders and workers arrested during Sunday’s protest near the Karachi Press Club against the recent increase in diesel and petrol prices.
PTI leadres Dawa Khan Sabir, Alamgir Khan, Advocate Khalid Mahmood and Miraj Shah, along with 20 party workers, were arrested and booked by the Artillery Maidan police under sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 149 (offence committed by members of an unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing a public servant), and 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The investigation officer (IO) produced the held PTI leaders and workers before the judicial magistrate (South), stating that they had been arrested for gathering unlawfully in violation of Section 144 and committing offfene of rioting. He requested the court to turn them in police custody for further interrogation, criminal record office and to arrest absconding suspects.
The state prosecutor contended that the suspects had been nominated in an FIR with specific role, adding that recovery was made from them. The defence counsel argued that the arrested men were political victims, who had been falsely nominated in the present case. This court had no jurisdiction to take cognizance of the offence punishable under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the basis of an FIR lodged by the police, they said, adding that cognizance can only be taken on the complaint of an authorized officer as provided under Section 195 of the CrPC.
After hearing both sides, the magistrate observed that as per the record, the suspects were arrested on the spot in connection with the present case, and are alleged to have formed an unlawful assembly in violation of promulgated order under Section 144, thereby attracted offence punishable undr section 147, 149, 186, and 188 of PPC.
“It is an admitted position that the offences are non-cognizable in nature except section 147 PPC which is cognizable, whereas all the alleged offenes fall within the category of bailable offences as provided under the Section Schedule of CrPC,” the magistrate noted.
He said that in the present case, all the sections invoked in the FIR were bailable, therefore; further detention of the suspects in police custody would not serve any fruitful purpose, particularly when the investigation officer has not pointed out any exceptional circumstances necessitating such remand.
The court therefore granted bail to the PTI leaders and workers against a surety of Rs5,000 each. Advocate Shujaat Ali Khan told The News that Alamgir Khan, Dawa, Khalid and Mairaj could not be released immediately after being granted bail as they were booked in another case pertaining to protest held last year in August. He added that the rest PTI workers had been released. He said that the police produced the four leaders before an anti-terrorism court that sent them to jail on judicial remand.
