Additional District and Session Judge (ADSJ) Raja Asif Mehmood has decided a defamation case in favour of Dr Farrukh Kamal of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). The Additional District and Session Judge also ordered a journalist of English daily to pay Rs 500,000 to Dr Farrukh Kamal for defaming him by publishing a news report against him.
The verdict was announced in a defamation case. The case under Defamation Ordinance 2002 was filed by Dr Farrukh Kamal, Medico Legal Officer (MLO) PIMS, in the District Court Islamabad on August 31, 2013, wherein it was contended that a malicious and defamatory news report was published by a journalist of an English daily against him.
In the story, the journalist had alleged that Dr Kamal obtained master degree in public health (MPH) from Sarhad University Islamabad campus, which was not recognised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). The journalist informed the court that Kamal got admission in the university in 2008 and completed the MPH degree in 2010, whereas the PMDC recognised the university in 2012.
Dr Kamal was seeking Rs 20 million damages suit from the journalist for writing against his degree. The journalist also claimed that the news was published in the good faith. ADSJ Mehmood observed that by using the words fake and bogus, the journalist had defamed the doctor.
Talking to Business Recorder, Kamal said that he got admission in Sarhad University in 2008 and passed MPH in 2012. "When he took admission in the university it was recognised by Higher Education Commission (HEC) and PMDC recognised the university in July 2011," he added.
He said that he passed two exams after recognition of MPH programme and received marks certificate after recognition of the university. He further claimed that he received MPH degree after almost 1.5 year of its recognition. He said that the court decided and granted status quo and directed the PMDC to decide his appeal within one month. "The recognition committee consisting of dean and professor of the medical universities decided in my favour," he said.
He said that the journalist published news report containing highly slanderous and libellous material against him. "Following the publishing of news, he issued several notices to the journalist but he did not reply. Then he decided to file this suit against him.
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