The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal made by PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan against the Supreme Court’s decision to strike out his right to defend himself in a defamation suit launched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against him.
With a majority verdict, two of the three-member Supreme Court bench dismissed Imran Khan’s appeal. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah presided over the bench. The court also included Justices Aminuddin Khan and Ayesha A. Malik. Justice Ayesha Malik wrote a dissenting opinion.
Barrister Ali Zafar appeared before the court on behalf of Imran Khan. Mustafa Ramday Advocate, the lawyer for Shehbaz Sharif, presented arguments before the court.
He argued that Imran Khan obtained 26 dates for an appearance from the court instead of submitting an answer.
“The petition for inspection of the claim was also rejected, which was not even challenged in the appeal,” he added.
“The final chance to submit the answer was also missed deliberately. Four more dates of appearances were obtained after filing unjustified objections,” he stated.
The court said that it was a legal requirement to first decide on the objections that had been raised.
“The trial court should have first examined the objections, but it did not happen,” Mustafa Ramday replied.
It should be noted that Shehbaz Sharif has filed a Rs100 billion compensation claim against Imran Khan.
In his claim against Imran Khan, Shehbaz Sharif claimed that the latter falsely accused him of soliciting a bribe in connection with the Panama Leaks scandal.
The court was asked to order Imran Khan to pay Rs100 billion in damages.
