Court rejects review plea of accused in cybercrime case

NOWSHERA: A court on Thursday rejected the application submitted by the accused for review in a cybercrime case and directed them to appear before the court of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and complete the proceedings forthwith.

The court of District and Sessions Judge, Peshawar, Ashfaq Taj after hearing the arguments of lawyers from both the sides, rejected the application of Bacha Khan, Raheem Khan Raheem and Gul Samar Shah for review and asked the accused and prosecution to appear in the FIA court Judge Muhammad Fahim.

They were also directed to present the evidence and complete the case proceedings in the shortest possible time.

Farooq Malik, lawyer for the accused Bacha Khan, a resident of Mardan, Gul Samar Shah, a resident of Nowshera and a poet, Raheem Khan Raheem, had appealed the court for review.

Senior journalist and former president of Nowshera Press Club Mushtaq Paracha had registered a complaint with the FIA Cybercrimes Circle, Peshawar, stating that material was being shared on social media to defame him and his family members.

The two accused were later arrested on the charges of defaming a senior newsman and important figures including former Defence Minister Pervez Khattak through the social media.A team of lawyers comprising Shafiq Javed and Muhammad Tariq Shah Kakar represented the complainant. The lawyers said that the accused were wasting the time of court.

They also argued that management of Facebook had confirmed the accused had used fake IDs while unleashing a propaganda against their client and his family members.They mentioned punishment suggested under the cybercrime 2002 Act and that of 2016 Act.

It may be mentioned that the investigation team had raided the shop of the accused and confiscated their computer, hardware disc, cell phone and modem from there. The seized items were sent for forensic audit, which confirmed the crime.

The complainant had alleged that the accused had posted printed material and audio clips against him on his Facebook page, “Awaz-e-Haq” in 2014 to defame him and his family. The defamatory material was posted by using the Facebook IDs of Bacha Khan and Gul Samar Shah.The court had rejected the accused appeal and declared the case maintainable and directed the relevant parties to complete arguments and witnesses.