Former Union Minister MJ Akbar’s criminal defamation case against Priya Ramani saw a dramatic moment on Tuesday, 10 December, when senior journalist Ghazala Wahab took the stand as a defence witness for Ramani.
In the court of Additional Chief Magistrate Vishal Pahuja (who has taken over the case from ACMM Samar Visha), Wahab gave a detailed account of the sexual and mental harassment that she was subjected to as a young journalist in Akbar’s The Asian Age newspaper.
Wahab had accused Akbar of sexual harassment and misconduct in the wake of the #MeToo movement last year, during which several women, including Priya Ramani came out with their disclosures. Akbar rebuffed all allegations and, in turn, filed a criminal defamation case against Ramani.
Wahab is Priya Ramani’s third defence witness. Previously, she had brought to court her close friend Niloufer Venkatraman and before that, she appeared as a witness for her side.
‘Would Send Personal Messages to Come to His Cabin’
Ghazala Wahab began her testimony by recounting her experiences from 1994 onwards, when she was hired as a junior copyeditor at The Asian Age.
“After completing my Journalism Honours from Delhi University, I joined Asian Age in 1994. In 1996, I was promoted and made the chief subeditor and my desk was placed right outside Akbar’s room. Many times while I was working on my computer, if I would look up, I would see Akbar staring at me. After some time, he started messaging me on the office’s intranet.”Ghazala Wahab
The Asian Age’s intranet was an internal messaging service where the conversations between the two parties remained private. Wahab, in her testimony, claimed that Akbar would misuse his position of power and message her to come to his cabin.
“Sometime in August 1997, in the afternoon, Akbar called me to his room. As I went in, he asked me to shut the door. Then he asked me to look up a word in the dictionary which was placed on a low three-legged stool across his desk. It was placed so low that one had to bend down. When I bent down, he came from behind and grabbed my waist. He ran his hands from my breasts to my hips. I tried to push his hands away but they were firmly planted on my waist. He then pushed his thumb on my breast. Not only was the door shut, even his back was towards the door.”Ghazala Wahab
Wahab further alleged that the very next day, Akbar messaged her on the intranet and asked her to come in again.
“The minute I entered, he immediately held me by my shoulder and forcefully tried to kiss me. I was speechless with fear but continued to push against him. He finally released me, I ran out howling.”Ghazala Wahab
In her testimony, she further claimed that she spoke to the bureau Chief Seema Mustafa, who said ‘she couldn’t do anything’.
“Seema said she wasn’t surprised by MJ Akbar’s behaviour and said that she couldn’t do anything about it. She said it was my call what I wanted to do. I was 26 then, alone, confused and helpless and petrified. Asian Age had no mechanism in place to hear matters of sexual harassment. It had no sexual harassment policy or committee. I was on my own. Not only was Akbar the editor-in-chief, he had also been an MP and former spokesperson of the Congress.”Ghazala Wahab
‘Sent Tarot Card Reader to Profess His Love for Me’
Ghazala Wahab, in her testimony to court, gave details about the ways in which she tried to say no to Akbar. But Akbar, it seems, was not willing to understand or take into account her refusal.
“I sent a message to Mr Akbar on the intranet telling him that I held him in high regard as an author, but his unwelcoming sexual advances were unacceptable to me. I told him I did not want him to behave like that with me again. Akbar immediately sent a message asking me to come in. He lectured me on how I was humiliating him by refusing his ‘genuine’ emotions towards me.”Ghazala Wahab
She further claimed that Akbar sent a tarot card reader to Wahab to convince her to accept his love.
“Once, he sent a tarot card reader to speak to me. That reader told me that Akbar was in love with me and that I should stop resisting him.”Ghazala Wahab
Akbar’s Lawyers Ruffle Feathers Again
It would not be inaccurate to say that Akbar’s entourage of lawyers have consistently used ‘disruption’ and ‘condescension’ as a tactic to ruffle the feathers of the defence witnesses and counsel.
During Tuesday’s hearing, senior advocate Geeta Luthra interrupted Wahab’s testimony to establish the fact that the information she was giving in her testimony was ‘irrelevant’.
Luthra raised Sections 6 and 9 of the Evidence Act to object to the line of examination followed by senior advocate Rebecca John (who is acting for Ramani) . Luthra raised objections to Wahab sharing her story in detail as she’s not the accused in the present defamation case and simply a witness. Luthra told the judge that statements given by Wahab didn’t qualify as evidence under Section 6 of the Evidence Act.
To this, the judge responded by stating,
“The appreciation of evidence takes place at a later stage. What might be relevant for you might not be relevant for her.”
Wahab had only started speaking and sat silently in the witness box as Luthra argued in court. The judge, however, resolved the matter and said Luthra couldn’t direct John on how she wanted to examine the witnesses.
“It’s defence’s prerogative to establish her case.”Vishal Pahuja, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
This was not the end, however, as unfortunately the minute Wahab began narrating her testimony again, there were chuckles and whispers of laughter from the opposition side, much to the dismay of those sitting in support of Ramani.
Wahab’s examination-in-chief (ie, her testimony for Ramani) has now been completed. She was be cross-examined by Akbar’s lawyers on 11 December. The final arguments will take place on 16, 24, and 25 January 2020.
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