LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif on Wednesday dismissed as withdrawn a writ petition of PMLQ supporters seeking a ban on the access of “Google Blogger” as it contained an allegedly defamatory material against their leader Moonis Elahi.
Dismissing the petition the chief justice observed that the petitioners being activists of PNl-Q had no locus standi to agitate against the matter before the court because they were not a directly aggrieved party in the matter.
However, the court allowed for Moonis Elahi himself to file such a petition if he wanted the removal of defamorty material on the internet, CJ Khwaja Sharif observed.
Earlier, Sheikhd Hammad Danish, the legal advisor of Pakistan telecommunication authority, in a written reply pointed out that the petitioner was not an aggrieved person in the case.
Admitting the objection of the PTA, the chief justice observed that according to article 199 of the constitution, only an aggrieved person could file a writ petition, therefore, the instant petition was liable to dismissal.
At this counsel for the petitioner said that he wanted to withdraw the petition and the chief justice dismissed the petition as withdrawn.
Ahsan Yousaf and two other activists of PML-Q filed the petition stating that they were shocked and astounded to see fabricated and baseless defamatory stories on the internet attributed to Moonis Elahi.
The petitioners prayed that the authorities be directed to block the access of the mentioned website in Pakistan and that the owner of “Google Blogger” be directed to respect and honour international conventions granting fundamental rights of every citizens. They also requested the court to direct the owners of the website to immediately remove the alleged hatred material against Moonis Elahi.
