Editors Guild of India suspends ex-minister MJ Akbar, Tarun Tejpal

Akbar served as a minister of state, External Affairs

The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday suspended the memberships of former Union minister M J Akbar and ex-Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal over allegations of sexual misconduct.

The Guild had sought the views of its Executive Committee (EC) on what action needed to be taken against Akbar, a dormant member at present and one of its past presidents, Tejpal and senior journalist Gautam Adhikari "in light of sexual misconduct allegations levelled against them", a statement said.

Tarun Tejpal

A majority of the EC members suggested that Akbar and Tejpal's memberships be suspended. Office-bearers discussed the EC's comments and concurred with the view that the two should be suspended from the Guild, it said.

The Guild decided it would seek Adhikari's response before deciding on his membership. The Editors Guild of India had last month put out an updated list of its members, which continued to include Akbar and Tejpal.

The #MeToo story
Akbar, 67, had resigned as a minister after allegations of sexual harassment were made against him by a former colleague, Priya Ramani. Akbar has also filed a defamation case against Ramani. At least 20 women have filed similar charges against Akbar.

Journalist Gautam Adhikari was accused of sexual harassment too during the #MeToo movement, while Tejpal was accused of rape by his junior way back in November 2013.

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