Priya Ramani urges Delhi court to acquit her in MJ Akbar's defamation case
Dec 18, 2020
New Delhi [India], December 18 : Journalist Priya Ramani, while concluding final arguments on Friday, urged a Delhi court to acquit her in connection with the defamation case filed against her by former Union Minister MJ Akbar.
While concluding her final arguments, Ramani's lawyer and senior advocate Rebecca John told the court that "Akbar has not come with clean hands".
Rebecca John told Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey that Akbar, in his entire complaint, referred to the tweets and articles by Priya Ramani but at that time 15 women had spoken up against him.
"When a person tries to establish defamation on the basis of sexual harassment allegations, was it not incumbent to make a fair disclosure about the fact that as many as 15 other women have levelled such allegations?" Rebecca John submitted adding that these women did not know each other.
"I plead that Priya Ramani be acquitted," she said. John asked should not the complainant bear the same responsibility while a lot of onus is put on her for being fair. "He should have said that other women have made allegations which are also false," the lawyer said.
The lawyer said that her client has hoped to spread awareness adding that "Ramani was not the only one who called out her male boss. She was one amongst a hundred."
"It has not been easy to say all this. It has taken a toll on her. But sometimes, it is cowardly if one does not speak the truth," John said adding that Priya's statement has remained consistent.
After Ramani's counsel concluded the final argument, the matter was adjourned for December 22 for rebuttal by Akbar's lawyer.
MJ Akbar, the former Minister of State for External Affairs, had filed a defamation case against the journalist Priya Ramani for accusing him of sexual misconduct. Ramani was the first woman to accuse Akbar of sexual harassment during the #MeToo campaign. The allegations levelled against him forced him to resign from the Union Cabinet on 17 October 2018.
