MeToo: Instagram account holder seeks time from HC to settle row with Subodh Gupta

An Instagram account holder, who posted sexual harassment allegations by a woman against artist Subodh Gupta, told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that an amicable settlement of the dispute was being explored and sought a week's time for it.

In view of the request made, Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw listed Gupta's defamation case against the account holder on February 11.

The court had on the last date of hearing asked the holder of Instagram account, '@herdsceneand', whether she/he wants to represent the anonymous victim in the defamation case field by Gupta.

The victim has yet not been arrayed as a party in the case, while the identity of the person running the Instagram account, which published the allegations in the wake of #MeToo movement, has been kept secret on court's directions.

The account holder had earlier said that she/he was only a "whistleblower", a neutral platform which intended to bring out the instances of sexual misconduct and harassment in the art fraternity, as part of the #MeToo movement.

The account holder had also stated that in the absence of an internal committee to deal with such instances, the victims of sexual harassment wrote to it about their personal experiences, knowing that the anonymity would protect them from retaliation in the hands of influential members of the art fraternity.

Gupta had filed a defamation suit against 'Herdsceneand' and others last year, following the publication of anonymous sexual harassment allegations against him.

In the written statement filed before the court, 'Herdsceneand' has claimed that she/he has been a part of the arts fraternity for over 10 years, both in India and abroad, and "cared deeply about the space of women in this profession".