- The Defamation Bill, 2024, passed by the Punjab Government, is criticized for granting excessive power to suppress media and opposition.
- The law's vague definitions and shifting of the burden of proof undermine judicial impartiality and compromise justice.
- Media organizations and civil society reject the bill, urging a transparent system to address fake news without violating fundamental rights.
The Punjab Government has passed the Defamation Act, 2024, despite the criticism from the opposition, media and civil society, owing to its profound drawbacks. Urging to protect people, particularly, public office holders from the fake news, the Government reckons the Act as the need of the hour, as no one has the right to defame anyone by using the shield of media.
Critics, however, argue that the aforementioned law will push the nation towards an Orwellian state, granting the government excessive power to suppress media and opposition. The statute’s abstruse definitions of journalists and media outlets allow authorities to exploit it for their own purposes. If the complainant is a ‘constitutional office bearer,’ a term not clearly defined by the pre-existing laws, the Provincial Government will appoint a tribunal judge for the case. This raises serious concerns about the system’s impartiality, as critics fear the government will appoint its blue eyed judge as part of tribunal to get desired verdicts. Such actions could undermine the integrity of the judicial process and stifle free speech, turning the law into a tool for oppression.
By shifting the burden of proof from the prosecution to the accused, the Defamation Bill, 2024 modifies the Qanoon-i-Shahadat law of evidence, departing from customary legal processes. Furthermore, the measure requires the accused party to give the plaintiff, 3 million rupees at the initial phase of the case, which casts doubt on the validity of the legislation. Opposition claims that by making it simpler for authorities to target specific people and suppress opposition, these rules compromise justice and due process.
All the media organizations, including: Pakistan Broadcaster Association (PBA) and All Pakistan News Society (APNS) have rejected the law by declaring it, ‘a black law’ to curb the freedom of speech and expression- the basic fundamental rights of a person. Various stake holders have decided to nullify the law from the court, because of its legal ambiguities. Considering the sway of negative propaganda and attack on personal lives to create sensations in both main stream media and social media for the sake of target rating points (TRPs) a strict defamation laws are inevitable. Nevertheless, government also needs to take the key stake holders: media and civil society on board to formulate a comprehensive but transparent system to control character assassination and fake news on media rather to bulldoze their own terms, even it usurps the basic rights of people.
