India
oi-Deepika S
New Delhi, February 17: A Delhi court acquitted journalist Priya Ramani in the criminal defamation case brought against her by former Union Minister MJ Akbar.
“Women cannot be punished for raising cases of sexual abuse. The Constitution allows women to present their complaints in any forum and at any time,” the court observed.
“Sexual abuse takes away dignity and self-confidence (and) the social stigma associated with accusations … society must understand the impact of sexual abuse and harassment on its victims,” the court said.
“Even a man of (high) social status (prestige) can be a sexual harasser,” the court said, adding that the right to reputation (referring to MJ Akbar’s claim that Ramani’s allegations had tarnished his image ) cannot be protected at the cost of the right to dignity.
Ramani had made a sexual misconduct complaint against Akbar in the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2018.
Akbar had 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.
She has denied all allegations of sexual harassment against women that came out during the #MeToo campaign against her.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.