MEERA SHAFI vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice, Islamabad S

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MEERA SHAFI VS FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice, Islamabad S. 20---Defamation Ordinance (LVI of 2002), Ss. 3 & 5(c)---Constitution of Pakistan, Arts. 10A, 19 & 185(3)---Criminalising defamation---Petition for leave to appeal challenging constitutionality of section 20 of prevention of electronic Crimes Act, 2016---Allegation of sexual harassment was made by petitioner on a social networking website---Petitioner's complaint under the Punjab Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2012 ('the 2012 Act'), was dismissed by the fora below, and appeal against the same was pending before the Supreme Court---Respondent-accused sought damages on account of his alleged defamation at the hands of the petitioner by filing a defamation suit, which was pending adjudication---Counsel for petitioner submitted that to pressurize and harass the witnesses of the petitioner in the pending defamation suit against her, the respondent lodged an FIR under section 20 of the prevention ofelectronic Crimes Act, 2016 ('PECA') against eight persons, including the petitioner and her witnesses, all of whom, had to obtain bail and were facing the ordeal of a criminal trial; that by such tactics the petitioner's complaint under the 2012 Act and her defence in the defamation suit, that what she had written on social media was true, had been jeopardized; that section 20 of PECA violated Article 19 of the Constitution, which enshrines freedom ofspeech and expression as a Fundamental Right, with defamation not stated as one of the exceptions therein---Supreme Court granted leave to appeal to consider the contentions of the counsel for the petitioner and other connected questions arising from the present case and stayed the proceedings in the case arising out ofthe FIR lodged by the respondent under section 20 of PECA till the next date of hearing.

MEERA SHAFI vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice, Islamabad S — 2022 SCMR 1267 SUPREME-COURT

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