Pakistan: Islamabad court dismisses defamation case against Imran Khan

Islamabad [Pakistan]: An Islamabad district and sessions court on Saturday dismissed a Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 20 billion defamation case filed against former Prime Minister Imran Khan by former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry after nearly 10 years, The Express Tribune reported.

In July 2014, Iftikhar Chaudhry sent a defamation notice worth PKR 20 billion to Imran Khan for accusing him of rigging in the general election held in 2013. After the notice, Chaudhry’s legal team warned of initiating legal proceedings if Imran Khan did not issue an apology for his statements.

Chaudhry formally registered a case in January 2015. In the lawsuit, the former Chief Justice of Pakistan accused Imran Khan of using derogatory remarks against him in a statement published on June 27, 2014, and had levelled baseless allegations against the judiciary.

After the lengthy proceedings, the court announced the decision in Imran Khan’s favour and dismissed the lawsuit filed by Chaudhry and called the defamation notice time-barred, according to The Express Tribune report.

In her ruling, Additional District Session Judge Haseena Saqlain stated, “As per the plaint, the last alleged defamatory statement was made on 27.06.2014, and the suit has been filed on 20.01.2015, that is after lapse of almost six months and 24 days.”

“The argument of the plaintiff is that the suit has been filed within six months of the purported notice issued on 24.07.2014, hence, is filed within time,” the ruling read, according to The Express Tribune.

The judgement highlighted the importance of including the date of knowledge of publication of defamatory material in the plaint. It stated, “Including the date of knowledge of publication of defamatory material in the plaint is crucial because it plays a significant role in determining whether the suit is within the statutory limitation period.”

The court also mentioned that the plantiff under the Defamation Ordinance 2022 needs to file the lawsuit within six months from the date of knowledge of the publication of defamatory material and failure to do so would render the suit time-barred, as per Section 12 of the Defamation Ordinance 2002, according to The Express Tribune.

“The presumption is now that the plaintiff was aware of the alleged defamatory remarks on the date of publication. Consequently, the filing the instant suit beyond the limitation period stipulated under Section 12 of the Defamation Ordinance 2002 is not permissible as the same has been filed after more than six months and 24 days of alleged defamatory statements published,” the court ruled.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder is presently incarcerated at Adiala Jail. He has been facing a number of legal challenges since his ouster in April 2022 through a no-confidence motion.

Meanwhile, PTI-affiliated candidates dominated elections held in Pakistan on February 8.