News

#MeToo: Delhi court acquits Priya Ramani in M J Akbar's defamation case

PTI New Delhi | Updated on February 17, 2021

A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted journalist Priya Ramani in M J Akbar's criminal defamation case against her, over the allegations of sexual harassment-- saying a woman has the right to put grievances before any platform of her choice even after decades.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey dismissed the complaint filed by Akbar saying that no charges were proved against her.

The court said it is shameful that crimes against women are taking place in a country where mega epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana were written about respecting them.

The glass ceiling will not prevent Indian women as a roadblock in advancement in society of equal opportunities, it said.

Ramani had made allegation of sexual misconduct against Akbar in the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018.

Akbar had filed the complaint against Ramani on October 15, 2018 for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of sexual misconduct decades ago.

He resigned as a Union minister on October 17, 2018.

He has denied all the allegations of sexual harassment against the women who came forward during #MeToo campaign against him.

Follow us on Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Linkedin. You can also download our Android App or IOS App.

Published on February 17, 2021
crime, law and justice
sexual harassment
Delhi
  1. Comments will be moderated by The Hindu Business Line editorial team.
  2. Comments that are abusive, personal, incendiary or irrelevant cannot be published.
  3. Please write complete sentences. Do not type comments in all capital letters, or in all lower case letters, or using abbreviated text. (example: u cannot substitute for you, d is not 'the', n is not 'and').
  4. We may remove hyperlinks within comments.
  5. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name, to avoid rejection.