Delhi court to hear Akbar's defamation case on October 31

M J Akbar. Pic/AFP

A Delhi court on Thursday agreed to hear the criminal defamation case filed by M J Akbar against journalist Priya Ramani, who has accused him of sexual harassment around 20 years ago, and will record the statement of the former Union minister on October 31.

Taking cognisance of the complaint, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal heard the submissions of senior advocate Geeta Luthra, representing Akbar, that the "controversial" tweets and identical social media posts of Ramani caused irreparable loss to his reputation built over a period of 40 years.

"Let the matter be fixed for examination of the complainant (Akbar) and his witnesses for October 31," the magistrate said. Akbar, 67, was not present in the court. A criminal defamation case, as against a civil defamation case, is significant as an accused could be sent to jail if found guilty. Section 500 of IPC provides for the sentence for the offence of defamation and an accused may be awarded two-year jail term or fine or both.

In a related development, the Editors Guild of India asked Akbar to withdraw the defamation case and came out in support of the women journalists who accused him of sexual harassment.

The Guild also offered legal support to women journalists who levelled the allegations against Akbar in case he does not withdraw the present case or files such cases against other women too.

Uncertainty over separate legal committee
With a high-level group of ministers being set up to look into the lacunae in existing laws against sexual harassment, a separate legal committee to look into allegations that have surfaced in the #MeToo campaign might not see light of the day, sources said on Friday. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi had last week proposed a panel of legal experts to look into such allegations.

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