Journalist Priya Ramani was acquitted by the Delhi court on Friday in a criminal defamation case filed by former Union Minister MJ Akbar. The court also emphasised in its judgement that the right to one’s reputation cannot come at the cost of a women’s right to dignity. The court also stated that even a person of high social status can be an alleged sexual harasser and women cannot be punished for raising voices against the abuse.

Today we will be talking about the origin of the #MeToo movement, the genesis of the Ramani VS Akbar case, and the court’s monumental ruling in the case.

Origin of the #MeToo movement 

The #MeToo movement took the internet by storm in 2017 when allegations of sexual abuse against film producer Harvey Weinstein started to outpour. Gradually, the movement also reached India with many working professionals in every industry called out their abusers on the public platforms either anonymously or directly. Eventually, a veil of hypocrisy was lifted and many figures ran for cover under public scrutiny.

Connection of #MeToo movement with the Priya Ramani VS MJ Akbar case 

In 2018, Priya shared an article on Twitter she wrote for Vogue India in 2017 following the allegations of misconduct against Harvey Weinstein made by several industry professionals under the #MeToo movement. In her article, Ramani did not name Akbar, but went on to describe an interview experience she had with a reputable newspaper editor for a reporter’s position.

In 2018, a year after the publication of her Vogue article which was titled, “To the Harvey Weinsteins of the World”, Ramani alleged on Twitter that the former boss whom she talked about in her article was, in fact, MJ Akbar.

The Aftermath of Ramani’s allegation 

Shortly after Ramani alleged MJ Akbar of being her boss who harassed her during an interview, Akbar resigned. Akbar’s resignation came after a host of women besides Ramani also came together and alleged Akbar to have sexually harassed them.

MJ Akbar’s Defamation case against Priya Ramani 

Shortly after resigning from his position, Akbar filed a criminal defamation suit under Section 500 of the IPC and argued that the incident was not the way she presented in her article. He also went on to say that a particular tweet by Ramani which accused him of being a “predator” has caused damage to his reputation.

Advocate Geeta Luthra who represented MJ Akbar in the Delhi court argued “Akbar’s stellar reputation was tarnished and harmed. He didn’t do anything but the news that called him a sexual predator continued to spread.”  It should be noted that a person found guilty of criminal defamation can face a punishment of maximum 2 years or fine or both.

Luthra also went on to give an argument that Ramani’s statements on Twitter were “defamatory” and questioned why Ramani made the decision to speak up several years after the incident.

Priya Ramani argument 

On 25th February, Priya Ramani gave a simple, precise and hard-hitting argument in the court of law: “Truth is my defence,” Ramani claimed the same after the court granted her bail and Ramani chose to stand by the statement till the very end.

Advocate Rebecca John, who represented Ramani, throughout the course of the hearings, pointed out that Ramani had pleaded “truth” as her defence for “good faith in public interest, and public good.”

John argued that even if MJ Akbar’s reputation suffered as a result of Ramani’s alleged defamation, her statements fell within a few exceptions under Section 499 of the IPC:

Exception 1: “It is not defamation to impute anything which is true concerning any person if it is made or published for public good.”

Exception 3: “It is not defamation to express in good faith any opinion whatever respecting the conduct of any person touching any public question, and respecting his character, so far as his character appears in that conduct, and no further.”

Exception 9: “It is not defamation to make an imputation on the character of another provided that the imputation be made in good faith for the protection of the interests of the person making it, or of any other person, or for the public good.”

Moreover, Ramani’s case got strengthened as Ghazala Wahab, another woman who had previously accused Akbar of sexual assault took a stand as the defence witness. This turned out to be one of the most important legal gambits that worked out for Ramani.

Court’s Verdict 

Finally, the court in its verdict acknowledged that no legal remedies were available for Ramani when she was harassed. The Sexual Harassment of the Women at Workplace Act, Section 355 which makes sexual harassment a criminal offence, and the Vishakha Guidelines that are formed against sexual harassment, all legal aids came after subsequent years.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Dubey was quoted saying, “Most of the women who suffer abuse do not speak up about it for the simple reason of the shame or stigma attached with the sexual harassment. The sexual abuse, if committed against woman, takes away her dignity and her self-confidence.”

In closing

Perhaps one of the biggest takeaways in Priya Ramani’s historic win against MJ Akbar is that one doesn’t have to touch someone inappropriately to be called a sexual harasser. MJ Akbar’s defence against Priya Ramani’s allegation was that “he didn’t do anything”. However, the judgement came down to his predatory behaviour he was a part of. 16 women came together and claimed that Akbar harassed them and the court acknowledged them all. Akbar had every kind of predatory behaviour associated when it came to interactions with these women: from a sexual assault in the form of rape to just making the other person feel uncomfortable.