Court Rejects Ducky Bhai’s Bail Plea in Gambling App Case

APP
Lahore: A sessions court on Thursday dismissed the bail application of YouTuber Saad-ur-Rehman, popularly known as Ducky Bhai, in a case pertaining to the promotion of gambling applications.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Dr. Sajida Chaudhry announced the reserved verdict after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence earlier in the day.
During the proceedings, the prosecutor strongly opposed the bail plea, contending that substantial evidence existed against the accused. He stated that the inquiry was initiated on the basis of a credible source report highlighting Ducky Bhai’s alleged involvement in promoting unlicensed gambling and forex applications.

The prosecutor further informed the court that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) had never registered such platforms, yet the YouTuber allegedly encouraged the public to invest in them through his videos.
Investigators also traced Rs160 million in one of the accused’s bank accounts and Rs50 million in another, for which no satisfactory explanation was provided, the prosecutor added, urging the court to reject the bail.
Conversely, the defence counsel argued that no witness had been presented, no notice issued, and no gambling app recovered from the accused.

He pointed out procedural flaws, noting that the inquiry began on June 30, the arrest was made on August 13, while the FIR was registered on August 17.

He further argued that Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) was misapplied, as it was the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) responsibility to block unlawful apps.
Despite these arguments, the court dismissed the bail request. It is worth mentioning that on September 23, a Judicial Magistrate had also turned down Ducky Bhai’s bail plea in the same case.

The National Cyber Investigation Agency registered the case against him on August 17 under various provisions of the Electronic Crimes Act, including electronic forgery, fraud, spamming, and spoofing, as well as Sections 294-B and 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Input from Samaa News website.