KARACHI: Regarding a post-arrest bail application submitted by the SUV driver in the Karsaz traffic accident case, a sessions court on Wednesday sent notices to the complainant and prosecution for Friday (tomorrow).
After carelessly operating an SUV and murdering a man and his daughter in an accident on August 19, suspect Natasha Danish has been detained.
Her attorney, Aamir Mansoob Qureshi, filed the bail application in front of Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Shahid Ali Memon, stating that his client had entered the nation on August 2 and was in possession of a six-month-valid British driver’s license.
Judge Memon sent notices to the complainant, the investigating officer, and the deputy district public prosecutor (East) for September 6 following the hearing.
After a two-day delay, the defense claims that the IO delivered blood and urine samples to the lab; the suspect’s bail requests will be heard tomorrow.
In the meantime, the suspect entered a new plea in an attempt to obtain bail in a drug case before Judicial Magistrate (East) Muhammad Raza Ansari.
Additionally, notices were sent by the magistrate to the state prosecutor and the complaint for September 6.
Using “malafide intentions and ulterior motives,” the defense attorney argued in court that his client was innocent and had been wrongly named in a case under Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which deals with punishment for qatl-bis-sabab.
The defense attorney contended that his client’s “judgment and perception were impaired, rendering her unable to foresee the consequences of her actions” and submitted a medical record of the suspect’s ongoing psychiatric treatment at the Aga Khan Hospital, which began 19 years ago.
Advocate Qureshi stated, “Her [the suspect’s] medical condition diminished her capacity to anticipate the outcomes, making it impossible for her to foresee any potential harm.”
He said that the suspect’s well-established history of depression and mental problems disproved any suggestion of malice or carelessness.
He claimed that the incident was not the consequence of deliberate carelessness, but rather an unplanned mishap that might have been made worse by her health issues. He also stated that it was “unjustifiable and excessive” to include Sections 322 and 320 of the PPC (which deal with punishment for careless or reckless driving) in the FIR in this case.
The defense attorney emphasized the prosecution’s “malafide intention” by arguing that the IO had taken his client’s blood and urine samples on the day of the purported incident in front of a female medico-legal official.
He stated that the IO took the samples on August 19 and, two days later, on August 21, submitted them for analysis.
“Therefore, without any break in a chain of safe custody, the samples so collected could not be said to be in safe custody,” he asserted.
The attorney further stated that on August 22, the IO filed an application with the magistrate to collect his client’s blood samples once more. The IO’s main justification for the request was that the client wanted to cross-check the sample with the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences at Karachi University.
But, the attorney added, the judge had rejected the plea since he had already awaited the results of the blood sample report.
The IO had approached the jail authorities and taken the blood sample “illegally and unlawfully under his nefarious design just to manipulate the samples to obtain a chemical examiner report of his own choice,” according to Advocate Qureshi, even though the IO had been fired by the court.
Presenting copies of her passport and driver’s license to the court, the attorney said that his client was British national and that her driver’s license was valid in the UK until 2031.
He asserted that the British driver’s license was recognized globally and was good for six months after entering Pakistan under local legislation.
The applicant’s attorney argued that since she landed in Pakistan on August 2 from London, she is authorized to drive there. The aforementioned PPC clause, according to him, “neither applies nor can be inserted in this case.”
His spouse is granted provisional bail.
Danish Iqbal, the husband of suspect Natasha, turned himself in to the trial court on Wednesday and filed an application for interim bail before the sessions court after receiving protected bail from the Sindh High Court.
The court granted him temporary bail after hearing his attorney’s argument, contingent on a Rs. 100,000 surety bond.
The deputy district public prosecutor (East) received notices from the court for September 6th, either for confirmation or otherwise.
