One of the most remarkable lines in the judgment is when the court accepts Ramani’s contention that Akbar “is not a man of stellar reputation”.
This was one of the crucial arguments that Ramani’s lawyer, senior advocate Rebecca John, had sought to make.
Using the testimony of Ramani and Ghazala Wahab (who had accused Akbar of serious sexual harassment in a searing article in The Wire even before Ramani accused him), as well as an article about other women who’d accused the former minister of sexual harassment and assault, John had argued that Akbar could not back up his claim of a ‘stellar reputation’.
Akbar had made this claim to argue that the allegations by Ramani were particularly damaging to him, citing his years of experience as a journalist, author and politician, as well as to support his denial of the claims of sexual harassment.
However, the judge found that Ramani and Wahab’s testimonies showed this was not the case, which was a boost for Ramani’s defences…