ISLAMABAD, April 3: The Supr­eme Court will resume, on April 7, the hearing of a review petition filed by PTI founder Imran Khan against the closure of his right to defence in the Rs10 billion defamation case.

Headed by Justice Ayesha A. Malik, a three-judge bench will take up the review petition, in which the court had earlier stayed proceedings pending before a trial court in Lahore in the Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against Imran Khan.

Earlier, on March 31, a different Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, had adjourned further proceedings in a set of appeals also filed by former prime minister Imran Khan against the April 23, 2025 Lahore High Court (LHC) rejection of his plea to implicate the Punjab government in the Rs10 billion defamation suit brought by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The case was then postponed until a final decision on the present review petition pending before the bench presided over by Justice Ayesha A. Malik.

Justice Malik’s dissent highlights fair trial concerns in long-running defamation dispute

The review petition was filed by Imran Khan against the Feb 21, 2023 Supreme Court judgement in which, through a majority judgement of two to one, it was observed that the conduct of the PTI founder was wilfully contumacious and disobedient throughout the trial court proceedings.

The case reached the Supreme Court after a trial court of an additional district judge had closed the right of defence — a decision that was upheld by the Lahore High Court and later endorsed by the Supreme Court through its Feb 21, 2023 judgement.

Through its order dated Oct 20, 2022, the trial court had dismissed the objections of the petitioner (Imran Khan), who had sought rejection of the interrogatories submitted by the respondent (Shehbaz Sharif), and directed him to submit answers to those interrogatories.

Later, through a subsequent order dated Nov 24, 2022, the trial court struck out the petitioner’s right of defence for failing to submit the answers.

Shehbaz Sharif, now the prime minister, had instituted the suit for recovery of damages against Imran Khan on July 7, 2017, alleging that the PTI founder had defamed him.

In its majority judgement, the Supreme Court had observed that the conduct of the PTI founder was wilfully contumacious and disobedient throughout the trial court proceedings, and held that the trial court had not committed any illegality or material irregularity in closing the right of defence.

The judgement, authored by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, also observed that the LHC had rightly declined to interfere in its revisional jurisdiction.

At the time, the Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by Imran Khan challenging the Dec 7, 2022 LHC order that had upheld the sessions court’s decision to close his right of defence for failing to respond within the stipulated time in the defamation case.

Justice Ayesha A. Malik, who was also a member of the bench, had dissented from the majority judgement, observing that in a case plagued by adjournments since 2017, the court must strike a balance between the right to a fair trial and the legitimacy of the latest request for adjournment.

She observed that the petitioner’s public shooting and injury at a political rally justified the grant of a reasonable adjournment under the circumstances. The right of defence, she noted, could not be struck out without considering all relevant factors, and the court must balance the right to a fair trial with the circumstances of the case.

On the other hand, Justice Shah observed that the petitioner’s conduct disentitled him from any indulgence under the court’s discretionary jurisdiction under Article 185(3) of the Constitution, and held that the appeal lacked merit.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2026