A judicial magistrate has barred media men from covering the case of a private complaint by a businessman who claims to be the husband of a popular actress accused of theft and intimidation. On Monday, the magistrate said the case was not in-camera and the media had no right to cover it.
Actress Meera's counsel later told the court that since his client was in Karachi, she could not come to Lahore because of the rescheduling of flights and asked the magistrate to have her exempted from her personal appearance. The actress, who too acted in Bollywood films, in her complaint said since the matter was of civil nature, no criminal proceedings could be attached to it. The magistrate has sought petitioner Attiqur Rehman to respond to the application and launched a process to have him declared as an "escapee for his constant absence".
In his complaint, businessman Rehman alleged that the actress had "committed a crime" by secretly marrying Captain Naveed, her second marriage. Businessman Rahman has alleged she threatened to have him killed. Actress Meera has denied she was ever married to him but police say they have evidence that they were wed in 2007. The businessman has also alleged that the actress had stolen some of his belongings and told the media that he owned the house in which she was living. He said when he returned from a recent business trip he found that a number of valuable items in his house had been taken.