LHC conditionally suspends verdict ordering Meesha Shafi to pay Rs5m in damages to Ali Zafar

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday conditionally suspended a trial court’s verdict ordering singer Meesha Shafi to pay Rs5 million in damages to fellow singer-cum-actor Ali Zafar in a defamation case, while maintaining restrictions on her from repeating her harassment allegations against him.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad heard Shafi’s appeal against the sessions court verdict passed on March 31. Justice Malik Waqar Haider Awan was the other member of the bench.

During the proceedings, her counsel, Saqib Jillani, sought suspension of the impugned judgment and offered to deposit one-third of the amount she was ordered to pay in cash.

Initially, the bench turned down the request for partial payment, directing that the full amount should be deposited.

However, upon further request, the bench ordered Shafi to deposit Rs2.5m in cash and furnish a surety bond worth the remaining Rs2.5m. As an interim relief, the bench suspended the trial court’s decision to the extent of the damages.

However, the bench observed that the restriction imposed by the trial court barring Shafi from making harassment allegations against Zafar would remain in force.

It also issued a notice to Zafar and adjourned the hearing. Zafar’s counsel, Umar Tariq Gill, present in the court, received the notice.

In March, a sessions court had ordered Shafi to pay Rs5m in damages for levelling 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 said.

Shafi, in 2018, had accused Zafar of sexually harassing her on more than one occasion.

Subsequently, Zafar filed a defamation case against her, saying that Shafi’s allegations tarnished his image in public. In the defamation suit, Zafar asked the court to issue a decree against Shafi and direct her to pay Rs1bn as damages to him.