Responding to former Union minister M J Akbar’s rebuttal, journalist Priya Ramani, dealing with trial in a felony defamation case, advised a Delhi courtroom by way of her lawyer on Wednesday that “no human being accused of sexual harassment can be a person of high reputation”.
Akbar has sued Ramani over allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment. With a number of different girls making comparable allegations in opposition to him, Akbar resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs in 2018.
The submissions had been made by Senior Advocate Rebecca John on behalf of Ramani earlier than Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rabindra Sange Kumar Pandey. Her response couldn’t be concluded and can proceed on February 1.
In the primary half of the listening to, Senior Advocate Geeta Luthra concluded her rebuttal on behalf of Akbar by telling the courtroom, “I have been harmed, I seek justice from this court. I have no other way.”
John started her response by saying that the Vogue article’s introduction was “not the whole piece” and that “the rest of the article was about the behaviour of male bosses and allegations against Harvey Weinstein”. She mentioned that “under no stretch of imagination” might or not it’s argued that all the article was on her expertise with Akbar.
On the costs of plagiarism within the article, John mentioned, “Priya Ramani in her evidence stated that these portions were taken from these articles as a representation of what Harvey Weinstein did to multiple women… Priya used these phrases to show what men like Harvey Weinstein do… These are examples of what women go through while being sexually harassed by their bosses. To say it is plagiarism is absurd.”
On Akbar’s popularity, John advised the courtroom that “the contestation of Akbar’s reputation is on the basis of the allegations against him”. “They opened the door of Akbar being a man of great reputation. I have every right to contest it through my own evidence and the evidence of Ghazala Wahab.”
On Ramani calling Akbar a predator, Luthra advised the courtroom, “We have to look at it through her lens unless there is perversity. For predator, my friend cited two legal dictionaries. When ordinary people write, they don’t use legal dictionaries. Ordinary people understand ordinary meanings.”
John advised the courtroom that “ten women had admittedly made allegations against Akbar”. “She is naming them and if this doesn’t show predatory behaviour, nothing does.”
“Till October 10, ten women had narrated their personal experience. This usage was not defamatory. The imputation is the truth. You cannot look at defamation in isolation,” John advised the courtroom.
