The Lahore High Court has declined to suspend the core findings of the trial court judgment dated 31 March 2026, which held the allegations levelled by Meesha Shafi against Ali Zafar to be false, defamatory and not made for public good.
This development further reinforces the trial court’s findings, which continue to remain fully operative.
The matter came up before a Division Bench headed by Justice Ahmed Arshad Nadeem upon an appeal filed by Meesha Shafi. At the outset, the court issued notice to Ali Zafar, which was duly accepted by his counsel, Umer Tariq Gill. During the proceedings, learned counsel for Shafi requested that the judgment and decree dated 31 March 2026 be suspended and submitted that his client was willing to deposit one-third of the amount. The High Court, however, declined to grant any suspension of the judgment on this basis.
The Court granted only limited interim relief by suspending the monetary decree amounting to Rs 5,000,000, subject to Shafi depositing 50 percent of the amount with the Court and furnishing security for the remaining 50 percent to the satisfaction of the court.
Importantly, the High Court has not suspended the substantive findings of the trial court. The declaration that the allegations were false, defamatory and not made for public good continues to remain fully operative and binding in law. The permanent injunction restraining Shafi from repeating the said allegations also remains in full force.
The matter is now pending adjudication before the Lahore High Court.