The Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed Imran Khan’s appeal against the Supreme Court’s dismissal of his right of defence in a Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against him on Thursday.
The appeal was heard by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan dismissed the appeal, while Justice Ayesha A Malik dissented.
Earlier this month, the Lahore High Court dismissed the PTI chairman’s appeal against the trial court verdict.
During the proceedings, Mustafa Ramday appeared on behalf of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and argued that the trial court had lawfully struck the right of the petitioner to answer the interrogatories of the respondent (Shehbaz Sharif).
He said the trial court passed the orders after the petitioner (Imran Khan) failed to file the reply despite repeated opportunities. He further submitted that the trial court conducted 21 hearings from the direction of filing the reply to striking out the right of defence in the suit whereas 13 adjournments were taken instead of filing the reply on behalf of Imran Khan.
He submitted that the petitioner could have refused to give an answer to any question in his reply, adding that the final opportunity to file a reply was also deliberately missed.
However, Imran Khan’s counsel, Barrister Ali Zafar, claimed that the trial court wrongfully struck his client’s rights. He claimed that the trial court seized the petitioner’s right to file objections on its own initiative. He also claimed that during the 23 hearings, Imran Khan’s counsel requested adjournments 10 times, while the opponent requested them seven times.
He pleaded with the court to overturn the trial court’s decision.
After hearing detailed arguments from the parties, the bench dismissed the appeal by a 2-1 vote and upheld the trial court verdict.
