LHC orders court to decide Ali Zafar, Meesha Shafi defamation case in 90 days
Zafar had filed the defamation suit last year against Shafi, who had accused him of sexual harassment
April 09, 2019
LAHORE: Justice Masood Jahangir of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday suspended the order of District Judge directing the trial court judge to concluded Ali Zafar’s defamation case against Meesha Shafi by April 15.
The time limit was increased by three months and Justice Jahangir observed that the legal team of Meesha Shafi was at liberty to see a further extension.
Singer and actor Ali Zafar had filed a plea last week through his counsel before an additional district and sessions court, seeking disposal of his defamation suit against singer Meesha Shafi in one month.
Zafar had filed the defamation suit last year against Shafi, who had accused him of sexual harassment.
The suit, claiming damages of Rs1 billion, was filed under the Defamation Ordinance 2002. In the notice, the singer claimed Shafi damaged his reputation through false allegations of sexual harassment.
In his plea for early disposal of the case, Zafar pleaded that Shafi and her lawyers should not be granted any more adjournments which waste the court’s precious time. He further requested the court to decide the case within the next 30 days as it had already been almost a year since the inception of the case.
In April 2018, Shafi had taken to Twitter to publicly accuse Zafar of physically harassing her on "more than one occasion". "This happened to me despite the fact I am an empowered, accomplished woman who is known for speaking her mind!" her statement had read.
Zafar, on the other hand, "categorically" denied the allegations and threatened to take legal action against the actress. "I intend to take this through the courts of law, and to address this professionally and seriously rather than to lodge any accusations here," the singer had said on Twitter.
