Court acquits Priya Ramani in MJ Akbar defamation case

  • Journalist Priya Ramani was acquitted by a Delhi court over a defamation case filed by former Union Minister MJ Akbar. 
  • She had accused Akbar of sexual misconduct in 2018.

THE CHARGE

  • Ramani's charge against MJ Akbar had come in the backdrop of a global MeToo campaign that began with a series of allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein in the US in 2017. 
  • In October 2018, Ms Ramani named MJ Akbar - then a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government - in a tweet. 
  • A week later MJ Akbar filed the criminal defamation case and resigned as minister two days later.
  • In his defamation suit, MJ Akbar had claimed that Priya Ramani caused damage to his "stellar reputation".

THE JUDGEMENT

  • Women can't be punished for raising instances of sexual abuse. 
  • The Constitution allows women to put forward her grievances before any forum and at any time.
  • Priya Ramani's disclosure was in the interest of antisexual harassment at workplace.

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