NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted journalist
Priya Ramani in the criminal defamation case filed by former Union minister MJ Akbar. Ramani had accused Akbar of sexual misconduct in the wake of the
#MeToo
movement in 2018.
The court said it is shameful that crimes against women are taking place in a country where mega epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana were written about respecting them.
The glass ceiling will not prevent Indian women as a roadblock in advancement in society of equal opportunities, it said.
"I am feeling amazing ... to have my truth vindicated in a court of law is really something," Ramani was quoted as saying by news agency ANI after the judgment.
In 2017, Ramani wrote an article for the Vogue where she described her ordeal of being sexually harassed by a former boss during her job interview for his publication.
One year later, she revealed that the person alluded to as harasser in the article was MJ Akbar.
Several other women also accused Akbar of sexual misconduct during the #MeToo movement.
The former Union minister filed the complaint against Ramani on October 15, 2018 for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of sexual misconduct decades ago.
He resigned as Union minister on October 17, 2018 and denied all the allegations of sexual harassment against the women who came forward during #MeToo campaign against him.
Akbar told the court that Ramani's allegations were fictitious and cost him his stellar reputation.
Ramani, on the other hand, contested these claims, pleaded truth as her defence and said that she made allegations in good faith, public interest, and for public good.
The judgment in the Ramani-Akbar case is likely to set a precedent for similar cases which arose from the discourse-changing #MeToo movement.
(With inputs from agencies)
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