New Delhi | A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted journalist Priya Ramani in the criminal defamation case of former Union Minister MJ Akbar. Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct. Ramani made a charge of sexual harassment against Akbar in the wake of the hashtag Meitu movement in 2018.
As a result, Akbar filed a criminal defamation suit against Ramani and resigned as Union Minister.
The trial began in 2019 and lasted for about two years.
In 2017, Ramani wrote an article for Vogue, where he told about being sexually harassed by a former boss during a job interview.
A year later, she revealed that the harasser in the article was MJ Akbar.
Akbar told the court that Ramani’s allegations were fictitious and it hurt his reputation. Priya Ramani, on the other hand, supported these claims, stating that she made these allegations for trust, public interest, and well-being.
The decision in the case is important, as it sets a precedent for similar cases, which have arisen from the Meitu movement.