A Malir court has granted post-arrest bail to six accused, including two senior officials of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), in the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) paper leak case.
DUHS Controller of Examinations Fawad Shaikh and Deputy Controller of Examinations Manthar Ali along with four others Muhammad Farooq Khan, Tariq Aziz Samu, Shaan Asfandiar and Shiraz Bilal have been charged by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with their involvement in the document leak. I was arrested. MDCAT Question Paper through various social media sites against financial benefits.
They filed bail applications before Judicial Magistrate (Malir) Pyar Ali Khoso. After hearing the defense and the prosecution, the magistrate granted bail to both on a surety bond of Rs.
Defense counsel Pir Asadullah Shah Rashidi took the stand that the petitioners are innocent and a false case has been registered against them without any solid evidence. He said that sections related to PECA are bailable while the rest of the sections invoked against his clients also do not fall under the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Therefore, he requested the magistrate to grant bail to the accused.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, strongly opposed the bail pleas saying that the case is premature as the charge sheet has not been submitted yet. On December 18, the magistrate returned the bail pleas citing lack of jurisdiction. He observed that the alleged offense falls within the ambit of the Anti-Corruption Act as some of the suspects were public servants and Section 5 (d) of the Anti-Corruption Act specifies that misconduct by a public servant is a schedule offence. Act
However, a sessions judge set aside the magistrate’s illegal order and directed the investigating officer to submit the FIR and related records to the magistrate, who would decide the bail applications as per law.
“It is yet to be determined by the Investigating Officer whether the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 will also apply in this case. Therefore, the observations of First Judicial Magistrate Millar are premature. This case,” the judge said. Noted. Further, the investigating agency may also file a separate challan before the Anti-Corruption Court if it comes to the conclusion that the Act 1947 is applicable to the case of the accused because the 1st Judicial Magistrate to whom the court is being nominated is is not qualified to make such an attempt. Crimes [that] Act 1947.”
FIA’s Cyber Crime Reporting Circle Karachi has registered a case against two senior officers of DUHS and over a dozen others for committing offenses punishable under relevant sections of Peca and PPC.
According to the FIA, on October 18, 2024, an inquiry was initiated into the complaint of paper leak of MDCAT entrance exam on September 22. On enquiry, the FIA said, DUHS officials and several others were found to be involved in the paper leak. It added that the suspects used social media as a tool to sell information and were responsible for breaching confidentiality during the exam preparation phase.