MeToo: Journalist Priya Ramani says she had no 'mala fide motives' against MJ Akbar

Journalist Priya Ramani told a Delhi Court on November 21, she had no 'mala fide' motive for alleging sexual harassment against former Union minister M J Akbar during the #MeToo movement. Priya Ramani was present at the court before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja, when she was being cross-examined by MJ Akbar's Lawyers.

MJ Akbar files defamation case against Ramani

After Priya Ramani's allegations, MJ Akbar resigned from his post and reportedly filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani. In a statement released by the journalist, however, she further denied that she had harmed Akbar’s reputation by making allegations of sexual harassment against him.

"It is wrong to suggest that all the details of the alleged event described by me are a figment of my imagination and are a work of fiction. It is wrong to suggest that I had made the allegations against the complainant for oblique motive and not to empower women. It is wrong to suggest that I have mala fide and extraneous motive for making the allegations against Akbar," said Ramani in a statement.

The cross-examination of Ramani and her friend Nilofer was conducted before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Vishal Pahuja as the case was transferred to his court by ACMM Samar Vishal. Earlier, Nilofer's statement was recorded before ACMM Samar Vishal during which she briefly narrated the alleged incident of Ramani's harassment. 

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The case

Priya Ramani first made the allegations of the incident in a news article by Vogue India, in 2017. She identified MJ Akbar as the person responsible for the incident in October 2018 during the #MeToo movement, in a series of tweets. Soon after this, around 20 more women accused Akbar of alleged sexual misconduct over several years during his journalistic career. In May, Akbar had denied meeting Ramani in a hotel room where she alleged he had sexually harassed her. Earlier, Priya Ramani told the court that she spoke about the event after more than two decades. 

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