Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2025 (Amendments) cannot be applied Retrospectively to Offences committed before its Enforcement --- Lahore High Court, Lahore

Islamabad 22-03-2025: In a significant ruling, the Lahore High Court, Multan Bench, granted post-arrest bail to two individuals accused of electronic financial fraud under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA). The Court ruled that amendments introduced in 2025, which reclassified certain offences from bailable to non-bailable, cannot be applied retrospectively to offences committed before the amendment’s enforcement.   

The case, Muhammad Rizwan Vs. The State & Another, arose from an FIR registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing, Multan, against Petitioners for alleged electronic fraud. The prosecution invoked Sections 3, 4, 13, 14, and 16 of PECA alongside Sections 419, 420, 468, 471, and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The prosecution contended that the 2025 Amendment to PECA made Sections 13 and 14 non-bailable, thereby barring the Petitioners from seeking bail.  

Mr. Justice Muhammad Jawad Zafar disagreed, holding that bail is a substantive right, and any amendment affecting an accused’s entitlement to bail cannot be retroactively applied unless the legislature explicitly states so. The Court cited (PLD 2024 SC 1168) (Mekotex Case), (PLD 1963 SC 478) (Mahmud Ali Qasuri Case), and (PLD 2014 SC 760) (Alam Zeb Case) to reaffirm that laws affecting vested rights must be applied prospectively.  

The ruling emphasized that bail remains a rule and refusal an exception, particularly where offences fall outside the prohibitory clause of Section 497 Cr.P.C. The prosecution failed to establish that the accused were likely to abscond or tamper with evidence, leading the Court to grant bail against PKR 1,000,000 each with two sureties.  

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