Supreme Court grants journalist Sohrab Barkat bail in Peca case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted journalist Sohrab Barkat post-arrest bail against surety bonds worth Rs200,000 in a case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). The case against Barkat has been registered over accusations of spreading misinformation about state institutions during an interview he conducted. A two-member bench headed by Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and including Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb took up Barkat’s bail petition in the case, which was filed against a January 21 order of the Lahore High Court (LHC) that had rejected the journalist’s previous bail plea. The petition was moved by Advocate Saad Rasool on Barkat’s behalf with the latter currently imprisoned at Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore. During the hearing on Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Raja Muhammad Shafqat Abbasi contended that the charges levelled against Barkat entailed 10 years’ imprisonment. Justice Afghan, however, observed that the court even granted bail to those facing charges under Section 302 (punishment for intentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code, the maximum penalty for which was death. He also noted that while the Peca law was being applied against those who criticised a “particular institution”, no action was being taken against those who pass “derogatory remarks” against the judiciary and its judges. At that, the deputy attorney general said that the law should be applied even against those who maligned ordinary citizens. Eventually, as the court approved Barkat’s bail, Justice Afghan made it clear that the journalist was not being acquitted and the “government can proceed against him”. The court also enquired at what stage the trial currently was, following which the counsel for Barkat argued that PTI activist Sanam Javed, whom his client had interviewed, had not been included in the investigation. He also complained that Barkat did not have access to the challan against him despite it having been furnished. “Neither a charge sheet has been filed nor a formal trial has commenced,” he added. The case against Barkat was registered on a complaint filed by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) for his alleged involvement in diminishing public trust in the state and for allegedly maligning state functionaries and dignitaries. The complainant has alleged that Barkat’s interview with Sanam had “derogatory remarks against state institutions”. Meanwhile, Barkat’s plea against the LHC order said that his arrest was in “blatant violation” of earlier high court orders. The plea accused the prosecution of being “malicious” and associated it with a “pattern of harassment”. Moreover, the NCCIA/FIA never disclosed the existence of an FIR against the petitioner, which proved mala fide intent on their part, and the FIR attributed no specific unlawful act or speech to the petitioner, the plea said. The petitioner then, could not be held liable for the views of the interviewee, it contended. Claims that Barkat was the owner of siasat.pk, where the interview was uploaded, were also rebutted in the plea. It contended that the LHC’s refusal to grant Barkat bail was “legally unsustainable” and based on a “misreading of facts and law”. The journalist’s continued detention amounted to “pre-trial punishment” and a “miscarriage of justice”, the plea said.

By none@none.com (Nasir Iqbal)