LHC conditionally suspends ruling directing Meesha Shafi to pay Rs5m damages to Ali Zafar

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday conditionally suspended a sessions court ruling that had directed singer Meesha Shafi to pay Rs5 million in damages to singer and actor Ali Zafar in a defamation case, while leaving in place the restriction on her from repeating harassment allegations against him.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad and Justice Malik Waqar Haider Awan heard Shafi’s appeal against the sessions court judgment delivered on March 31.

During the hearing, Shafi’s counsel Saqib Jillani requested suspension of the impugned judgment and offered to deposit one-third of the amount in cash. The bench initially declined the request for partial payment and directed that the full amount be deposited. Later, on a further request, the court ordered Shafi to deposit Rs2.5m in cash and submit a surety bond for the remaining Rs2.5m.

As interim relief, the bench suspended the trial court verdict to the extent of the damages. However, it observed that the restriction imposed by the trial court, which bars Shafi from making harassment allegations against Zafar, would continue to remain effective.

The high court also issued notice to Zafar and adjourned the hearing. Zafar’s counsel, Umar Tariq Gill, who was present in court, received the notice.

Sessions court ruling

In March, a sessions court had ordered Shafi to pay Rs5m in damages for making harassment allegations against Zafar, holding that the accusations were not made in the public interest.

"The defendant is further permanently restrained from repeating, publishing, or causing to be published, directly or indirectly, the aforesaid defamatory allegations of sexual harassment of a physical nature against the plaintiff, in any form of media, including print, electronic or social media," the judgment had stated.

According to the case history cited in court proceedings, Shafi had accused Zafar in 2018 of sexually harassing her on more than one occasion. Zafar subsequently filed a defamation suit against her, arguing that the allegations had damaged his public reputation.

In the defamation suit, Zafar had asked the court to pass a decree against Shafi and direct her to pay Rs1 billion in damages.

The latest LHC order provides temporary relief to Shafi on the damages component of the sessions court verdict, subject to the conditions set by the bench, while the restraint on repeating the allegations remains in force pending further proceedings.