#MeToo: M J Akbar files criminal defamation suit against journalist Ramani

Ramani says she was disappointed that Akbar's statement of Sunday paid no heed to the "trauma and fear of the survivors"

Union Minister M J Akbar, who is facing sexual harassment allegations from nearly a dozen women, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against journalist Priya Ramani on Monday. As part of the #MeToo campaign in India, Ramani is one of the women to have levelled charges of sexual misconduct against Akbar from the time he was the editor of a newspaper.

Akbar, the Minister of State for External Affairs, had accused Ramani of “wilfully, deliberately, intentionally, and maliciously” defaming him and has sought her prosecution under the penal provision on defamation.

Ramani said she was disappointed that Akbar’s statement of Sunday paid no heed to the “trauma and fear of the survivors”. She said Akbar was seeking to “silence” the survivors through “intimidation and harassment”, but she was “ready to fight allegations of defamation laid against her”. Ramani said “truth and the absolute truth” was her “only defence”. 

Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association of India, Press Club of India, and South Asian Women in the Media issued a joint statement on behalf of journalist organisations asking Akbar to step down as minister until an inquiry into the allegations could be completed.

Akbar had returned from his official foreign visit on Sunday to find support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership, which gave him an opportunity to defend himself against the allegations rather than ask him to quit from the Union Council of Ministers pending inquiry.

“The complainant (Akbar) also had a long career in journalism. He launched India’s first weekly political news magazine...,” the complaint said and listed out defamatory imputations made by Ramani on social media against him.

The complaint alleged that Ramani has “resorted to a series of maliciously serious allegations which she is diabolically and viciously spreading in the media” and that “false narrative against the complainant (Akbar) is being circulated in a motivated manner for the fulfilment of an agenda”. 

The complaint, filed through advocate Sandeep Kapur, seeks issuance of notice to Ramani under Section 499 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). 

Ramani said she was “deeply disappointed” that a Union minister should dismiss the allegations of several women as a political conspiracy. “By instituting a case of criminal defamation against me, Mr Akbar has made his stand clear rather than engage with the serious allegations that many women have made against him, he seeks to silence them through intimidation and harassment,” she said.

Ramani also said it was disingenuous of Akbar to ask why the women have spoken now “as we are all aware of the stigma and shame that sexual crimes inflict upon victims.” She said Akbar’s statement pays no heed to the trauma that women suffer at their workplaces.

In its first comments on the sexual harassment allegations against Akbar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said he has given his version on the row and that it is not about whether the party agrees or disagrees with him. “It is not about agreeing or disagreeing. He has presented his version,” BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said.

Hours after returning from a trip to Africa, Akbar had termed allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by several women as “false, fabricated, and deeply distressing” and said he was taking appropriate legal action against them. The women, who accused Akbar of sexual harassment, included Priya Ramani, Ghazala Wahab, Shuma Raha, Anju Bharti, and Shutapa Paul.

The Youth Congress activists on Monday staged a protest near Akbar’s residence demanding his “immediate resignation”.

Section 500 of the IPC provides that an accused may be awarded two years’ jail term or fine or both in the event of conviction.