LAHORE: A sessions court on Friday turned down a request of PTI Chairman Imran Khan to dismiss a Rs10bn defamation suit against him being pursued by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the last six years and directed the latter to present his evidence.

Through an application, Khan’s counsel pleaded that the court on Dec 18, 2021 directed both parties to file their interrogatories. He said his client filed the same on Feb 2, 2022 and the court directed the plaintiff (Shehbaz) to file his interrogatories on the same date.

He said the plaintiff after availing a number of opportunities failed to file reply of the interrogatories in the form and manner required by the rules of the civil procedure code (CPC) and within the time specified by the court.

The PTI chief’s counsel argued that the defamation suit of PM Shehbaz was liable to be dismissed.

On the other hand, Shehbaz’s counsel opposed the application raising objections on the merits. He said the defendant filed the application only to delay the suit proceedings and frustrate the process of the court.

He pointed out that Shehbaz had submitted his interrogatories the very next day after the defendant filed his own while a reply was filed on March 16, 2022. He said the PTI chief had already lost his right to defend the suit through an order passed by the trial court on Nov 24, 2022, which was also upheld by the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court as well.

He argued that the defendant had no right to file such applications to hinder the process of the adjudication of the suit.

In his written order, Additional District & Sessions Judge Muhammad Irfan Basra noted that the reply of the plaintiff (Shehbaz) was filed on March 16, 2023 though was not in the shape of an affidavit as prescribed in the law.

The judge said the plaintiff may be required to remove the defect as the same is curable.

However, the judge observed that the plaintiff had already filed the reply to the interrogatories of the defendant on a prescribed form on April 6, 2022.

The judge observed that the formal defect had already been rectified.

“In these circumstances, this application holds no ground, hence, the same is dismissed,” the judge said in the order.

The judge adjourned the hearing of the suit till May 20 for the evidence of the plaintiff.

PM Shehbaz had filed the defamation suit in 2017 for the recovery of damages from Khan for accusing him of offering the latter Rs10bn through a common friend in exchange for withdrawing the case of Panama Papers pending before the Supreme Court.

The plaintiff said Khan leveled baseless allegations on him of offering the latter money through a friend for withdrawing the Panama Papers case.

He sought a decree for recovery of Rs10billion as compensation from Khan for publication of defamatory content.

The former prime minister had filed his reply to the main suit with a delay of four years in 2021 saying one of his friends told him that someone known to him and also the Sharif family approached him with an offer to pay billions of rupees if he could convince him (Khan) to stop pursuing the Panama case.

Khan said he disclosed the incident for the consumption of the public at large and in the interest of the public good does not constitute any defamation.

The reply maintained that Khan did not specifically attribute any statement to the plaintiff (Shehbaz) while narrating the incident.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2023