Defamation case: Lahore court orders Meesha Shafi to pay Rs5 million in damages to Ali Zafar

LAHORE: A sessions court on Tuesday ordered singer Meesha Shafi to pay singer-cum-actor Ali Zafar Rs5 million in damages.

The court issued a short order in a defamation case filed against Shafi by Zafar for levelling allegations of sexual harassment.

According to a copy of the short order — available with Dawn — the court found that that a social media post and an interview in Instep Today “contain false, defamatory and injurious imputations against the plaintiff (Zafar), whereby allegations of sexual harassment of a physical nature were levelled, which have not been proved to be true or made for public good, and thus constitute actionable defamation”.

It noted that Zafar was entitled to compensatory damages on account of damage to reputation, dignity and mental anguish. However, it noted that the claim of special damages “has not been proved through cogent and reliable evidence”.

“Accordingly, a sum of Rs5,000,000 … is awarded to the plaintiff as general damages only, recoverable from the defendant,” the order read.

“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,” it added.

On Monday, the sessions court had concluded the hearing in the case, indicating that a final verdict was likely to be announced today.

In his defamation suit filed in 2018, Zafar had said the allegations of sexual harassment by Shafi tarnished his image in public, and his family had been facing agony and pain. Shafi, in 2018, had accused Zafar of sexually harassing her on more than one occasion.

In the defamation suit, Zafar asked the court to issue a decree against Meesha and direct her to pay Rs1bn as damages to him.

Last week, the lawyers for both the plaintiff and the defendant had concluded their arguments.

Advocate Umar Tariq Gill, on behalf of Zafar, had argued that Shafi had levelled false allegations, causing serious damage to his reputation.

He maintained that no one other than Shafi had ever accused Zafar of such conduct. He urged the court to allow the defamation suit and order the defendant to pay damages of Rs1bn to the plaintiff.

Advocate Saqib Jilani, who was representing Shafi, asked the court to dismiss the defamation suit with costs.

In his final arguments, he contended that no concrete evidence had been produced in support of the defamation claim by the plaintiff. He stated that Shafi had reported multiple incidents of alleged harassment, and she remained consistent in her statements, despite an extensive cross-examination by Zafar’s legal team. The counsel said Shafi cannot be punished for speaking about her own grievance through a defamation suit filed by the plaintiff.