A court in Dadu has ordered a citizen to pay Rs5 million in damages to a government doctor over defamatory social media allegations and directed him to issue a public apology on Facebook.
Additional District and Sessions Judge-II Dadu passed the verdict against Mukhtiar Jatoi in favour of Dr Amjad Hussain Mastoi, Medical Superintendent of District Headquarters Hospital Dadu.
The court also directed Jatoi to keep the apology post live on his Facebook account for 30 days and barred him from removing it during this period.
The case stemmed from posts and a live broadcast made by Jatoi on July 24, 2024, in which he accused Dr Mastoi of holding a fake MBBS degree and embezzling hospital funds. Dr Mastoi rejected the allegations and filed a defamation suit under the Defamation Ordinance 2002, seeking Rs20 million in damages.
During the hearing, Jatoi argued that his social media activity fell under journalistic work. The court rejected this defence, noting that he could not establish his credentials as a journalist and failed to produce any evidence to support the allegations against the doctor.
After examining the case, the court awarded Rs5 million in damages to Dr Mastoi and ordered Jatoi to issue an unconditional public apology through his Facebook account.
