The Supreme Court of Pakistan has granted leave in the Meesha Shafi vs. The Governor of Punjab case, Meesha Shafi and her legal team announced on Twitter.
In October 2019 Meesha’s plea in the court was dismissed on technical grounds. The court decided that it could not hear the case as under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010 as it does not cover instances outside of the employer-employee relationship within the workplace.
Ms Shafi then appealed to the Governor of Punjab against the decision as the competent authority to review any decisions made by the ombudsperson.
The Punjab Governor reiterated the ombudsperson’s decision in July 2018, still citing the legal loophole as the reason to dismiss the plea. The case subsequently was taken up at the Lahore High Court and then the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
After hearing the plaintiff’s arguments, the Supreme Court noted that the arguments raised by the petitioner must be reviewed, and took up the case which will define sexual harassment for the Pakistani law.
The apex court will take up the case to hear argument from the petitioner and the three-judge bench of the court, led by Justice Mushir Alam, issued notices to respondents Ali Zafar and Advocate General Punjab.
