Former Union Minister MJ Akbar has moved the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court’s decision to acquit journalist Priya Ramani in the criminal defamation case he had brought against her in 2018.
The case was listed before Justice Mukta Gupta, on Thursday, 25 March. However, the hearing was adjourned as the court of Justice Gupta did not assemble.
A Delhi trial court had on 17 February, acquitted Ramani in the said case, which Akbar had filed over the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by her during the #MeToo movement.
The Rouse Avenue Court had held the content of Ramani’s article for Vogue magazine, that referred to Akbar, as defamatory and rejected her claims that only a few paragraphs referred to the latter.
However, the court also took into consideration the systematic abuse at workplaces, and said that “women can’t be punished for raising instances of sexual abuse by complaints claiming defamation.”