A district and sessions court in Karachi on Saturday issued a notice to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and sought its response by April 3 after journalist Farhan Mallick filed an appeal against the dismissal of his bail application in a case pertaining to alleged violation of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).  

The district and sessions judge (East) issued the orders on journalist Mallick’s appeal against the verdict of the judicial magistrate (East).

At the outset of today’s hearing, Mallick’s counsel argued that the judicial magistrate dismissed his client’s bail plea without conducting an inquiry into the allegation against the journalist.          

“Rejecting the bail application based only on the thumbnail is not fair,” argued his counsel.  

Meanwhile, the court sought FIA’s response in this regard and adjourned the hearing till April 3. 

The development came a day after a local court dismissed the bail plea of the journalist  in the case pertaining to the alleged violation of the Peca.

The FIA took the journalist into custody on March 20 for allegedly spreading anti-state content.  

The contentious Peca law was recently amended, and journalist bodies across the country have been protesting the law, dubbing it an attempt to gag freedom of speech and intimidate newspersons and their media outlets.

An FIR was lodged against Mallick under multiple sections of the Peca Act read with Pakistan Penal Code’s Section 190 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) and 500 (punishment for defamation).

The FIR mentioned that Mallick, who worked for a private news channel as director news and now owns a YouTube channel, was allegedly involved in disseminating anti-state content.

“During the course of inquiry, initial technical analysis of the alleged YouTube Channel was received, which revealed that the alleged person is involved in generating and disseminating posts and videos related to anti-state, consisting of fake news and public incitement agenda,” the FIR mentioned.

“He has [been] continuously disseminating and uploading posts and videos related to anti-state, consist of fake news and public incitement agenda, thereby causing harm to the reputation of public institutes on an international level which acts on his part constitute the commission of offence.”

A local court on March 25 sent Mallick to jail on judicial remand, rejecting the FIA’s request for an extension in physical remand.

After the expiry of his four-day physical remand, the FIA presented the senior journalist before the judicial magistrate (East), seeking an extension to the remand.

However, the court rejected the FIA’s request for his physical remand and instead sent Mallick to jail on judicial remand.

Mallick’s is not the first arrest under the amended Peca law. The Rawalpindi police on March 19 registered the first case under the Peca against a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist on the charges of spreading misinformation and negative propaganda.

The case was filed following a social media post that was allegedly based on misinformation. According to a police spokesman, the suspect, identified as Muhammad Rehan, was arrested for posting inappropriate content online.