A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted journalist Priya Ramani in the defamation case filed by former Union minister MJ Akbar, Bar and Bench reported. Ramani had accused Akbar of sexual harassment during the #MeToo movement in India in 2018.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey, while reading out the judgement said that the court contended that the allegations made by Ramani were “malicious” and amounted to “defamatory publication by design”. During the hearing, the court observed that ‘even a man of social status can be a sexual harasser’, reported Bar and Bench.
Akbar had resigned from the Union Council of Ministers after that and filed a defamation case against her. On February 10, the earlier scheduled date for the verdict, Pandey had adjourned the matter till Wednesday, as he received the written submissions late.
Senior Advocate Geeta Luthra argued for Akbar, while Ramani was represented by lawyer Rebecca John. Throughout the…