Actor Feroze Khan announced on Tuesday that he has served defamation notices to people perpetuating “false and baseless allegations” against him with regards to the accusations by his former spouse Aliza Sultan of domestic abuse.
Earlier on Tuesday, Khan posted screenshots on his Instagram account of what appeared to be the legal document but deleted it within 10 minutes of posting it. He then posted a tweet announcing his legal team’s course of action but did not mention any names or include the document.
His earlier post of the said notice, however, clearly showed the mobile phone numbers and addresses of several recipients, including public figures such as actors Yasir Hussain and Sarwat Gilani. On Wednesday, Hussain and Gilani took up the issue of sharing people’s private and personal information online on their Instagram accounts.
Aliza Sultan and Khan married in 2018 and share a son and a daughter together. They announced their intention to divorce in September and said they were in the middle of court proceedings discussing custody and visitation rights for their two children. Sultan had said she was physically and psychologically abused by her former partner during their marriage. Khan refused to comment at the time.
In October, Sultan shared emergency room records which marked “blunt injuries on both her arms, her back, chest and face” as well as photos of the bruises as evidence of abuse. Several members of the entertainment industry rallied behind her on social media. A day after Sultan’s allegations, Khan denied them and vowed to take legal action against the perpetrators of the “rumours”.
“I, Feroze Khan vehemently deny any and baseless, malicious and untruthful allegations which have been levelled against me and are circulating on the social media rumour mill. These allegations have no basis in truth or reality. I fully intend to institute legal proceedings against the perpetrators of these actions and I have instructed my legal team accordingly,” he had written in an Instagram story.
A Karachi family court is hearing two cases — one filed by Khan for custody of their two children and another filed by Sultan for maintenance money for the children. At the last hearing of the case in December, the court ordered the verification of evidence submitted by Sultan. The SHO of the Darakhshan police station and the medico-legal officer of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre were directed to submit their reports in the case.
Khan’s legal team argues that the reports have been “fabricated”. He had also requested the court to restrain his ex-wife from sharing information or content relating to their personal lives on social media.
