A Lahore district court judge on Saturday deferred the hearing on a surety (supardari) application filed by YouTuber Saad-ur-Rehman, popularly known as Ducky Bhai, in a case involving the alleged illegal promotion of betting apps.

Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo adjourned further proceedings on the supardari plea until December 22.

The court also postponed the hearing on framing of charges to January 4 after co-accused Subhan Sharif failed to appear.

Ducky Bhai, his wife Aroob Jatoi and other accused appeared before the court.

During the hearing, the magistrate observed that the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had no objection to handing over several seized items, including cards, identity documents, a wallet and a laptop bag.

The court noted that the agency had raised no objection to the supardari of 19 items.

An additional director of the FIA informed the court that forensic analysis of three mobile phones and a laptop was underway.

He added that the accused could not be granted access to his YouTube account at this stage.

The prosecution told the court that three videos had been uploaded to the channel. The judge remarked that the YouTube channel had already been blocked and was no longer the accused’s property.

Responding to the court’s queries, Ducky Bhai said he had authorised his editor to upload videos before his arrest and that the editor retained upload access. He maintained that no financial benefit was earned from the uploaded content.

The court questioned why videos were uploaded when the channel was no longer under the accused’s ownership, and adjourned the matter for further hearing.