Veteran journalist and Union minister M.J. Akbar has filed a criminal defamation case in Delhi's Patiala House Court against journalist Priya Ramani on the latter's accusations of sexual harassment against him. Akbar, a junior minister in the External Affairs ministry, filed the defamation lawsuit through his advocates Karanjawala & Co on Monday.
The development comes in the backdrop of allegations of sexual harassment against the minister by 10 journalists during his tenure as editor of major news publications. Terming the allegations as false, Akbar had on Sunday said that "making accusations without evidence has become a viral fever among some sections". Facing heat in the wake of the #MeToo movement, the senior journalist-turned-minister also threatened to take legal action against women journalists, who levelled the allegations.
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Akbar, who was on a diplomatic tour returned to Delhi amid rising pressure for him to resign. On Sunday, there were even rumours Akbar had stepped down from his position. However, indicating his decision to not resign, Akbar stated: "The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice. I could not reply earlier as I was on an official tour abroad."
Interestingly, Priya Ramani's allegations found a mention in his statement on Sunday. She was the first one to publically accuse Akbar of misconduct. "Ms Priya Ramani began this campaign a year ago with a magazine article. She did not however name me as she knew it was an incorrect story. When asked recently why she had not named me, she replied, in a Tweet: "Never named him because he didn't 'do' anything." If I didn't do anything, where and what is the story? There is no story. This was admitted at the very inception," noted the statement.
Ramani's article for Vogue India dates back to October 12, 2017, as #MeToo movement was catching on in the West following Alyssa Milano exposing Harvey Weinstein. She accused him of inappropriate behaviour during her interview at a Mumbai hotel.