New Delhi: A Delhi court Wednesday threw out M J Akbar’s criminal defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani who accused him of sexual harassment, saying a woman cannot be punished for raising her voice against such abuse.
A woman has the right to put grievances before any platform of her choice even after decades, the court said and dismissed Akbar’s complaint holding that no charges were proved against Ramani.
It said right of reputation cannot be protected at the cost of right of life and dignity of a woman as guaranteed in Constitution under article 21 and right of equality before law and equal protection of law as guaranteed under article 14.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey said it is shameful that incidents of crime and violence against women are happening in the country where mega epics such as Mahabarata and Ramayana were written around the theme of respect for women.
Ramani made allegations of sexual misconduct…