5 Big Points From Delhi Court Verdict Acquitting Priya Ramani
New Delhi:
Journalist Priya Ramani was acquitted by a Delhi court Wednesday afternoon over a defamation case filed by former Union Minister MJ Akbar, whom she accused of sexual misconduct in 2018. In October 2017, Vogue India published an article by Ms Ramani, in which she described an incident with a “former boss” and whom she called a “sexual predator”. Ms Ramani said he had called her to his hotel bedroom on the pretext of a job interview and behaved inappropriately. This was as the #MeToo movement was gaining traction around the world, empowering women to highlight instances of sexual abuse and harassment in their personal and professional lives. That article led to more than a dozen women making similar allegations against the former editor. On October 15, 2018, MJ Akbar – then a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government – filed a criminal defamation case against Ms Ramani. He resigned as minister two days later. The trial in this case began in January 2019, and today’s verdict was read out by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey.
Here are five big observations from today’s judgment:
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Women can’t be punished for raising instances of sexual abuse. The Constitution allows women to put forward her grievances before any forum and at any time.
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Society must understand the impact of sexual abuse and harassment on its victims.
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Sexual abuse takes away dignity and self-confidence (and) the social stigma attached with the allegations.. society must understand the impact of sexual abuse and harassment on its victims.
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Even a man of (high) social status (standing) can be a sexual harasser.
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Right of reputation (referring to MJ Akbar’s claim that Ms Ramani’s allegations had tarnished his image) cannot be protected at the cost of right to dignity.
