Judge recuses from hearing Ducky Bhai’s bail plea

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Judge Justice Farooq Haider has recused himself from hearing the bail plea of YouTuber Saad-ur-Rehman popularly known as Ducky Bhai, who is currently on physical remand in a case related to the alleged promotion of an online gambling app.

Justice Farooq Haider forwarded the case to the LHC chief justice to assign the case to another bench.

National Counter Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officials presented a detailed report in the court. In the bail plea, the petitioner has named the NCCIA and others as respondents.

Advocate Imran Chadhar appeared on behalf of the accused.

The petition stated that the applicant was arrested at the airport by the NCCIA while attempting to travel abroad as he was never served a notice or summoned for investigation.

His counsel told the court that Ducky Bhai had already remained in the NCCIA custody for 10 days on physical remand and urged the court to grant him bail.

Earlier, a local court in Lahore summoned Y Ducky Bhai, along with other accused for indictment in a case related to the promotion of an online gambling app.

Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo heard the case against Ducky Bhai, co-accused Aroob Jatoi, Opi Baba and Subhan, all of whom appeared before the court to mark their attendance.

The court distributed copies of the challan (charge sheet) among the accused and directed all of them to appear again on November 17 for indictment proceedings.

It may be noted that the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has already submitted the challan to the court.

Ducky Bhai is accused of promoting illegal gambling applications through his YouTube channel. The NCCIA Lahore had registered a case against him on behalf of the state on the night of August 17.

The case includes charges under various sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, including Section 13 (Electronic Forgery), Section 14 (Electronic Fraud), Section 25 (Spamming) and Section 26 (Spoofing)

In addition, sections 294-B and 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) have also been invoked.

Last month the local court rejected the post-arrest bail plea of Rehman, Judicial Magistrate Wattoo had announced the decision after hearing both sides. The defence argued that the case was politically motivated and lacked evidence, while the prosecution maintained that Rehman had earned millions through the apps. Arrested by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on August 17, Ducky Bhai remains in judicial custody as the court ordered the investigation to continue.

Earlier, Islamabad police told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that NCCIA Deputy Director Muhammad Usman, who was abducted from the federal capital earlier this month, had also been investigating the case involving Ducky Bhai.