The Lahore High Court (LHC) issued a major order on Monday. The court suspended a lower court’s directive against singer Meesha Shafi. The previous directive forced Shafi to pay Rs5 million in damages to fellow singer Ali Zafar. This payment followed a defamation case linked to sexual harassment allegations.
A sessions court in Lahore announced the initial verdict in March. Singer Ali Zafar had filed the defamation case against Shafi. The sessions court upheld Zafar’s claim. It ordered Shafi to pay the Rs5 million sum.
Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad heard Shafi’s appeal at the Lahore High Court. Shafi challenged the sessions court’s decision in her petition. The lower court had awarded the damages after reviewing Zafar’s defamation suit. Zafar filed the suit because of Shafi’s public harassment claims.
The Court’s Conditions and Directives
The Lahore High Court set clear conditions for the suspension. The court directed Shafi to deposit half of the damages amount in cash. This equals Rs2.5 million. Shafi must also submit a surety bond for the remaining half of the money.
The court successfully blocked the immediate transfer of the funds to Zafar. The bench also issued a formal notice to Ali Zafar. The notice seeks his official response to Shafi’s appeal. The court adjourned further proceedings until it receives all replies.
Arguments from the Legal Teams
During the hearing, Shafi’s counsel made a broad request. The lawyer asked the court to suspend the entire trial court verdict. However, the court rejected this request. The bench declined to grant a blanket stay on the full decision.
The court refused to interfere with one specific portion of the trial court’s ruling. The lower court had restricted Shafi from repeating the sexual harassment allegations. The Lahore High Court stated that this part of the decision cannot be suspended right now. The bench remarked that no one can freely level sexual harassment allegations without proof.
Background of the Defamation Suit
Ali Zafar filed the original defamation suit in 2018. He initially sought Rs1 billion in damages from Shafi. Shafi had accused him of sexual harassment on social media. Zafar has consistently denied all allegations made against him.
The dispute began in April 2018. Shafi used her Twitter account, now called X, to make the claims. She publicly accused Zafar of physically harassing her on more than one occasion. This statement sparked years of legal battles between the two prominent artists.
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