NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday issued summons to
Priya Ramani as an accused in the
defamation
case filed by former minister
MJ Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
The court has directed Ramani to appear before the court on next date of hearing on February 25. Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Samar Vishal issued the direction on Akbar's plea.
Earlier in the month, Akbar's counsel Geeta Luthra had argued for issuing of summon against Ramani who was the first woman to accuse Akbar of sexual harassment during the
#MeToo
movement.
On January 11, three more witnesses in the case recorded their statements in the court. In total, seven people (including Akbar) have recorded their statements in the criminal defamation complaint.
All the witnesses who concluded their statements in favour of Akbar said that his impeccable reputation built over the years was tarnished in their eyes and caused grave damage to his reputation by tweets and publications.
All these witnesses have been associated with Akbar for many years.
Akbar resigned as the minister of state for external affairs in October last year after Ramani and other women accused him of sexual harassment.