In a landmark judgement on 17th February 2021, journalist Priya Ramani was acquitted in the defamation case filed by former union minister MJ Akbar.
Directing attention to the systemic abuse of sexual harassment, the court addressed the issue of women not speaking up against abuse due to the fear of such legal and personal attacks. The Delhi court observed that ‘right of reputation cannot be protected at the cost of right to dignity’.
The judgment has been lauded by many people as well as celebrities on Twitter. Some have also been talking about the fight still going on.
Take a look at some of the reactions:
In 2017, Vogue India had published an article by Ramani wherein she had accused a ‘former boss’ of being a ‘sexual predator.’ A year later, she identified the man as MJ Akbar, who was then a minister in the central government, in a #MeToo Tweet.
In response, Akbar had filed a defamation case against her after resigning from his position in the government.
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