The Delhi High Court issued notice to senior journalist Priya Ramani on Wednesday when it heard former Union Minister MJ Akbar’s plea challenging the acquittal of Ramani in the defamation case he filed against her following her sexual harassment allegations, Live Law reported.
The next date of hearing in the case has been scheduled for January 13, 2022.
Akbar had filed the defamation case against Ramani in 2018 after she accused him of sexual misconduct when he was her editor.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Ramani had written an article for Vogue on October 12, 2017. The article, titled To the Harvey Weinsteins of the World, was addressed to “Dear Male Boss.” At that time, the identity of the boss was kept anonymous.
In October 2018, Ramani named Akbar as the editor who had harassed her. She said that the incident occurred during an interview with Akbar at a hotel room in Mumbai in 1993. Ramani added that she had decided to name him publicly after a number of women came forward to accuse Akbar of sexual harassment.
Akbar soon resigned from the Union Council of Ministers and filed a criminal case of defamation against Ramani. He has since been denying the charges, claiming that he doesn’t remember the incident and terming Ramani’s allegations “malicious and fabricated.”
Over the past two years, Ramani’s lawyer, senior advocate Rebecca John, has pointed out more than 15 women have accused Akbar of sexually assaulting them during the #MeToo movement.
Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court acquitted Ramani of all charges in the case on February 17.
The court had accepted the possibility of Ramani’s defence based on several testimonies including her own, that Akbar was not a man of “stellar reputation.” The court also observed that “a man of social status” can also be “a sexual harasser.”
After this judgement, on March 24, Akbar moved the Delhi High Court to challenge Ramani’s acquittal in the case.
While challenging the acquittal, Akbar’s lawyer Geeta Luthra had pointed out that Ramani was acquitted despite the trial judge acknowledging that her statements were “defamatory.”
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On Wednesday, Luthra along with Rajiv Nayar, both appearing for Akbar, once again pointed out that “the trial court had found that the tweets are defamatory. So going into sexual harassment allegations is not required.”
However, the court said, “That’s first step. If it is found not defamatory, there’s no need to go further. But if it’s found that the contents are defamatory, then the second step is to determine whether the defence taken by her was right.”
Luthra pointed out that the trial court’s order said it had accepted Ramani’s “possibility of defence” that she disclosed the truth regarding the sexual harassment and said, “You can’t rely on ‘possibility of defence’.”
Following this, the court issued notice to Ramani in the plea and adjourned the matter.