ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: Accepting the petition of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan, Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sent the defamation case filed against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Mohammad Asif back to the sessions courts.

In the defamation suit, Imran Khan had demanded Rs10 billion in damages but the sessions court held that according to an IHC act, the court could not hear cases inwhich the amount exceeded Rs100 million.

But on Thursday IHC accepted the argument of PTI counsel that according to the defamation ordinance 2012, the session court could decide a case without being hindered by any monetary limitation.

Resultantly, IHC set aside the order passed by the additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Islamabad, Sikandar Khan, on November 16, 2012.

The ADSJ had dismissed the plea of Imran Khan for the recovery of Rs10 billion from Khawaja Asif as damages for accusing him of gambling and defaming Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT).

The judge dismissed the damages suit because under the IHC Act, 2010, sessions court could not hear a civil suit comprising monetary amount more than Rs100 million. According to the IHC Act, suits for the recovery of more than Rs100 million could only be filed in the IHC.

Thereafter, PTI chief Imran Khan on December, 2012, filed an appeal in the IHC against the order of ADSJ.

In his suit for damages against Khawaja Asif, Mr Khan referred to a press conference on August 1, 2012, in which the PML-N leader alleged that PTI chief had lost huge amounts in real estate gambling, which was donated to SKMT in the form of Zakat, Fitrana and other forms of donations.

Khawaja Asif addressing the media on the said date claimed that a total of $4.5 million funds of SKMT were invested abroad.

If the investment was safe then why Khan had not invested his own money in the ventures, asked Asif, demanding a reply from Imran Khan on the allegations.

In response to the said allegations, Khan in his plea contended that Khawaja Asif had made false statements during his press conference which were deliberately and maliciously intended to cause harm to his reputation within and outside Pakistan.

The plea said that Khawaja Asif during the press conference compared Imran Khan with the “Double Shah” a notorious fraudster who had deprived thousands of people of their hard earned savings by extracting funds on the basis of false representations.Before the IHC, Khan through his counsel contended that section 13 of defamation ordinance, 2012, empowers the sessions courts for taking up the cases related to defamation and does not setup a monetary limit to the courts jurisdiction.

On the other hand, the counsel argued that  section 4 of IHC Act, which sets up a monetary limitation, does not enjoy a status higher than other statutes and could not affect the special jurisdiction of district court vested by the defamation ordinance.

He said that the defamation ordinance has an overriding effect on the IHC Act, therefore, ADSJ could not dismiss the damages suit on the basis of the monetary value of the suit.

However, Ali Gilani, counsel of Khawaja Asif, said that the dismissal of the damages suit was a lawful decision of the ADSJ and IHC could only take up this case because the value for the suit exceeds from Rs100 million.

The learned judge, however, observed that since the defamation ordinance did not fix any limit for the suits for damages, therefore, the sessions court may decide the matter in accordance with the law and remanded the case back to the ADSJ.