Calcutta High Court rejects plea, says marriage-like relationship can attract cruelty

The High Court has rejected a Facebook user's request to postpone the payment of RM300,000 in defamation damages to Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin. The court also dismissed the user's appeal to delay his apology to Asri pending the outcome of his appeal. However, the defendant was granted permission to postpone his apology until the Court of Appeal processes the appeal.

The court denied the user's claim that Nawawi Abdul Razak, the plaintiff, faced financial constraints, ruling that the circumstances did not warrant a stay. Asri's legal team objected, arguing that Nawawi's financial situation did not constitute special circumstances. In July, the court found that one of four statements published by Nawawi was defamatory, while ruling that the remaining three statements did not meet the legal requirements for defamation.

Asri filed the defamation suit in October 2024, accusing Nawawi of linking him to GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd and implying he was a leader or supporter of the GISBH movement.