On Tuesday, a judicial magistrate granted pre-arrest bail to the daughter of a Supreme Court judge in a hit-and-run case that resulted in two deaths.
She turned herself in after avoiding arrest for more than two years.
Judicial Magistrate Kamran Zaheer Abbasi reviewed the bail petition of Shanza Malik, daughter of Supreme Court Judge Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan, seeking pre-arrest bail for an FIR filed at Khanna Police Station in Islamabad.
Her lawyer, Mohammad Siddique Awan, argued that Shanza Malik had been wrongly accused in the case by the complainant and the police with the intention to blackmail and harass her family.
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He added that while the police had charged her under Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code (causing death by rash or negligent driving), which is non-bailable, the relevant charge should have been under Section 320 (causing death without intent), which is bailable. Awan also said that Malik held a valid driving license.
Assistant District Public Prosecutor Rana Hassan Abbas opposed the bail petition, urging the court to reject it. The judge noted that since Shanza Malik had a valid driving license, she could not be charged under Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Consequently, the judge replaced Section 322 with Section 320. With this change, the judge ruled that Malik was eligible for bail.
