Justice Farooq Haider of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the bail petition of YouTuber Saad-ur-Rehman, popularly known as Ducky Bhai, in the case related to the promotion of online gambling applications.

Following the judge’s recusal, the court forwarded the case file to the chief justice for assignment to another bench.

During the brief proceedings, an officer of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) presented a detailed record before the court.

The petition, filed by Ducky Bhai through Advocate Imran Chadhar, names the NCCIA and several others as respondents.

In his plea, Ducky Bhai argued that the agency arrested him at the airport while he was about to travel abroad, even though he was never served a notice or summoned for investigation.

His counsel informed the court that Ducky Bhai had already remained in NCCIA custody for ten days on physical remand and urged the court to grant him bail.

Ducky Bhai faces allegations of promoting illegal gambling apps through social media platforms.

His case was previously heard by a Lahore district court, which had extended his judicial remand by 14 days on November 3 at the FIA’s request to complete its investigation.

The Lahore High Court is expected to fix a new date for the hearing once the case is reassigned to another bench.