INIJIF SupIZEME COURT Or' PAKISTAN
(Appellate Jurisdiction)
PRESENT:
MR. JUSTICE IIAZHAR ALAM "AN MIANKUEL
MB. JUSTICE JAMAL 1,-IAN MANDOKIWL
.juj inal petition Nos. 1313-L 1314-L & IM5-L OF 2021
passed
sed by the
(On appeal against the judg
Lahore High Court, Lahore in Crl.MiscN05.18739B & I'.744-B of
2023)
\
Rohan Ahinad (cl.P!313-WI)
Usman Ahmad (Cr! P.13/FL/2L)
Tariq Ahmad Shahzad (CrtP.!3i5-Li)
petitioner(s)
VERSUS
The State, etc. (in all cases) 
- Respondent(s)
For the Petitioner(s) Sb. Ijsman Karim-Ud-th1, ASC
(iii all caec) 
Miss Nina Jilant, ASC
Mr. Arshad Nazit Mirza, ASC
Mirza Mehmood Ahmed, ASC
Syed Nayyab Hussain Qerdezi, DAG
For the State 
1,1ehmoOdutHa5, D.D.(FIA)
Mudassar Shah, D.D. (HA)
Naveed Aslam, Si. (FIA)
For the Complainant Mr. Muhammad Shahid Tasawar, ASC
Date of Hearing 
21.04.2022
R
zhjrAIaJllKhMM1anItJ Petitioners have called
in question order dated 26.082021, passed by the Lahore High Court,
Lahore, whereby bail was refused to the petitioners (in all petitions) in
case FIR No. C-29 dated 26.05.2020, offence under section ii of the
Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and sections 295W 298C,
1208, 34, 109 PPC, registered at P.S. FIA, Cyber Crime Reporting
 
Centre, Lahore.
CH.SI'- i3I3L 1314-1 .. 1315-L/2021 
2
p
V
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2. Precise allegation against the petitioners, as per contents of
( 
FIR registered on the complaint of Muhammad ShakeS, Advocate, is
that he received a message on his cell numbers from an unknown number
through WhatsApp regarding essay writing and quiz program. Later on
contacting with the sender, the complainant was told by the caller about a
quiz contest with the name of Sultan ui Qalam and invited the
complainant to join link on website, which he shared with him. The link
led to another link where certain books were available for downloading
including Holy Oman with the name of Tafseer e Sagheer. On reading
the book Rohani Khazain, the complainant found blasphemous content.
It was also found by him that Holy Quran Thfseer e Sagheer was also
carrying desecrated translation and a number of books were banned by
Punjab Government. The complainant took snapshots of the material and
also took note of the links and then reported the matter to HA. After
some enquiry, the FIA team raided the house of the petitioner Rohan and
recovered mobile set containing number 03224374750. From the house,
printed material, banned books etc were also recovered. It was found by
the FIA team that the material and banned books were also shared on an
open link to public and anyone could have gone through the link and read
those books and material. During investigation, petitioner Rohan
admitted that being Nazim Thleem Majils Khuddarn ul Ahmadiya he was
responsible for organizing competitions and to upload the content. He
disclosed that it was all done under the supervision and assistance of
petitioners Tjsman and Hafiz Tariq Ahmad respectively.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners addressed the Court at
length. The main premise of their arguments was that the case is a fake
one and the complainant in connivance with HA authorities have planted
all the material upon the petitioner Rohan and the other two petitioners
have been made scapegoat for the sake of tightening the stranglehold
around the necks of the petitioners; and that the complainant has a
history of lodging such like complaints or to come forward as witness in
similar cases; that the motive behind such conduct of complainant is his
utter hatred of the religious beliefs of the petitioners. Learned counsel
further contended that mischief of sections 295A, 2958 & 295C of PPC
p 
Cri.sP2323-t. 7314-fl & 1315-t/2021 
3
is not attracted to the case of petitioners and if at all, the prosecution at
all costs wanted to prosecute the petitioners, a case under section 9 of the
Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) Act, 2011 and under
section 5 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932 had to be
registered, punishment whereof is three years and six months
respectively. Learned counsel for the petitioners further contended that
there is nothing on record which could connect the petitioner Rohan and
others with the commission of alleged offence; that the message he
allegedly sent through WhatsApp was meant for only the members of the
Group and he was not at all disseminating his or his community's
religious beliefs; that the complainant has cooked up an altogether
fictitious story to rope the petitioners in this case.
4.
Learned counsel for the complainant and learned Deputy
Attorney General, on the other hand, forcefully opposed the prayer of the
petitioners for grant of bail mainly on the ground that charge has already
been framed by the trial Court; that there is sufficient forensic material
available on record connecting the petitioners with the alleged offence;
that there is no denying the fact and not even rebutted by the petitioners'
learned counsel that the material and the books shared and recovered
from the possession of petitioner Rohan have been banned by the Punjab
Government, as is evident from the report of the Mutahida Ulerna Board;
that the provisions of the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording
Act), 2011 is not attracted as it is only meant with registered publishers
and not ordinary criminals and that it was a willful act on the part of the
petitioner Rohan and others to disseminate their religious views, material
and banned books containing blasphemous content.
5.
Heard the learned counsel for the parties at length and have
perused the available record with their assistance. The prosecution case
against the petitioners starts from a WhatsApp message allegedly sent by
petitioner Rohan from his cell number to the number of the complainant.
Learned Deputy Attorney General under instructions of the investigating
officers present with record has confirmed that during investigation it
was found that petitioner Rohan Abroad used to politically upload
 proscribed defiled translation of the Holy Quran, Tafseer-e-Sagheer,
4
cti.sP 313-L 314-1 & 1325-L/2021
blasphemous books i.e. Rohani KhazaivZ and others through google drive
and also created a google link 
n Sultan_ul.Qa11" and disseminated it
through WhatsApP number, which is registered against his name. The
learned Law Officer further stated under instructions that petitioner
Usman Ahmad used to provide blasphemous content for online
competitions through an email address and the number mentioned in that
email is registered against his name; that he also created WhatsApp
Group Emergency Maflis that he used to
supervise and pass instructions regarding the quiz competitions through
WhatsApp and he disseminated
"Sultanut-Qalam" and defiled
translation of the Holy Quran through WhatsApp. As regards role of
petitioner Tariq Ahmad Shahzad, learned Deputy Attorney General,
under instructions, states that during investigation it was found that he
prepared the quiz questions and papers of proscribed material Sullafl-U-
Qalarn and disseminated the same to petitioners Rohan Ahmad and
Usman Abroad through his email- So far as the contention of petitioners'
counsel that the quiz was meant only for members of the group and not
for public circulation and submissions regarding mischief of various
legal provisions to the present case are concerned, suffice it to observe
that at bait stage we are not meant to dig deep into the evidence or to
scrutinize factual aspects of the case, which certainly is the responsibility
of the trial court and requires evidence to be adduced from both sides. In
case this Court enters into the realm of the trial court during bail stage, it
would be disadvantageous for both sides and would certainly prejudice
the case of either side. Therefore, We restrain ourselves from
commenting on the merits of the case and find that prima facie the
prosecution has sufficient material on record to connect the petitioners
with the alleged crime and in the circumstances, they are not entitled for
grant of bail.
6.
For the foregoing, the instant criminal petitions having no
merit are dismissed and leave to appeal is refused.
7.
At this stage, it has been observed by us that there are
certain observations in the impugned order, which have the tendency of
'prejudicing the case of petitioners before the trial Court. Therefore, 
WC
CrLs1313-L 23)4-& 1315 L12021 
5
expect that trial of the case shall be conducted and concluded by the trial
Court strictly in accordance with law, without being
prejudiced/influenced by any observation contained in the impugned
order of the learned High Court.
ANNOUNCED IN OPEN COURT ON 
4 / ci,) oiai_
 
N4T APPROVED FOR REPORTING
/-
