SC accepts anchor person’s bail plea

Shahid Masood arrested by FIA from IHC premises on Nov 23

ISLAMABAD: The A two-judge Supreme Court bench, comprising by Justice Manzoor Ahmed and Justice Tariq Masood, on Monday directed authorities to release former chairman of the Pakistan Television (PTV) Dr Shahid Masood on bail against Rs500,000 surety bonds.

During the proceedings, Dr Masood's counsel pleaded that his client positively criticised the then government in his programmes, which was the main reason behind this trial. He added that three other accused in the case were on bail, so “why not my client could be released on bail”.

He said that originally Dr Masood’s name was not included in the investigation report earlier but added later on. He also argued that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected Dr Masood's bail application without examining the facts and without following the rules and regulations.

The additional attorney general informed the bench that the accused was neither mentioned in the first information report (FIR) registered in December 15, 2015, nor in the interim challan [charge sheet] submitted earlier.

SC grants bail to Shahid Masood in PTV corruption case

Accepting the bail application, the bench observed that three other suspects in the case had already been granted bail by the trail court then why not to Dr Masood. The court said that Dr Masood’s name was not included in the first challan. It was also noted that till now it had not been established that Dr Masood or his any relative had any link with the two companies in question.

Dr Masood was arrested by the FIA from the IHC premises on November 23, after his bail application was rejected in the PTV corruption case. The anchorperson was later sent to Adiala Jail on judicial remand.

Masood was appointed PTV chairman in the tenure of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). He is accused of signing an agreement with a fake company to negotiate with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for grant of rights for coverage of cricket matches played in Pakistan.