Court win to help unmask Victorian ‘Labor dirt sheet plotters’

Dumped Labor candidate Nurul Khan launched legal action against the sender of a defamatory email in the hope this would flush out the rivals who masterminded the conspiracy against him.

Dumped Labor candidate Nurul Khan with the party’s then Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

A dumped Victorian ALP candidate has scored a significant victory in the Federal Court in his quest to unmask plotters behind an election-eve “dirt sheet” that destroyed his political career.

Justice Catherine Button has delivered a default judgment in favour of ex-Labor candidate Nurul Khan against a Brooklyn man who has been identified as the sender of the defamatory email just weeks before the 2022 state election.

Mr Khan — swiftly dumped by Labor as the preselected candidate for the Upper House after the email which contained damaging claims against him was sent to Labor MPs and media outlets — has been waging a long campaign to clear his name.

The Bangladeshi-born lawyer launched legal action against the sender of the email in the hope this would flush out the Victorian Labor rivals who masterminded the conspiracy against him.

Mr Khan suspects federal Victorian Labor MPs, party figures and members of the Bangladeshi community were all involved in a conspiracy to end his political career.

Mr Khan succeeded in extracting registration details from Google for the email account of david­[e-mail] which was used to send the “dirt sheet”.

That data revealed the email was sent from an address in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Court documents have identified the sender of the email as Mohammad Saif Uddin.

Mr Khan believes the Brooklyn man had links to those Melbourne identities behind the plot.

Justice Button last week found against Mr Uddin, who has ignored the legal action, and the court will now hold a hearing to assess what damages should be awarded to Mr Khan.

“Here, the Respondent (Mr Uddin) has shown no desire to participate in the litigation in any way,” the judge ruled.

“Moreover, the evidence of the Applicant’s (Mr Khan) solicitor suggests that the Respondent has sought to evade service.

“In the circumstances, unless judgment in default is granted, there is nothing further the Applicant can practically do to advance the litigation.”

Justice Button went on to find that if the court’s judgment “should stir the Respondent to wish to engage with the litigation, he will have the opportunity to seek to set aside the judgment in default, should he wish to do so.”

Mr Khan welcomed the court ruling on Monday.

“Having joined the Australian Labor Party with optimism and ambition, I was preselected to contest the Victorian State Election for the Western Metropolitan Region, but my dreams were shattered when I abruptly disendorsed by the party following the receipt of an anonymous email containing false accusations,” he told The Australian.

“I cannot stand idly by … I want truth and justice.”

Mr Khan says he has received legal advice that the Federal Court order will enforceable in New York. “I have already initiated discussions with reputable law firms in New York, they eager to assist in executing the orders of the Australian court,” he said.

The Brooklyn apartment where the man linked to the anonymous Labor Party ‘dirt sheet’ that destroyed Mr Khan's political career lived.

When The Australian visited the Brooklyn apartment linked to the plot late last year, a woman who identified herself as Mr Uddin’s cousin said he had moved out. “He is not here anymore,” she said. “He is my cousin but he’s not living here anymore. He used to live here.

He’s changed (his mobile) number … (and) I do not (know where he now lives), sorry.”

The “dirt sheet” making a series of serious allegations against Mr Khan was emailed to federal Labor MPs and party chiefs just weeks before the 2022 Victorian election.

Victorian Labor chiefs axed Mr Khan as an upper house candidate in the western metropolitan region on November 12, just three days after the david­[e-mail] email ­arrived at 1.18am on November 9. The Victorian ALP has defended its swift removal of Mr Khan, saying the integrity of its candidates was a priority.