India News: NEW DELHI: 'To hold a person guilty of an offence, without the same being tested in the crucible of trial, is against the rule of law' said senior adv.
5 Min Read
CHENNAI, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The threat of jail under India’s criminal defamation law has had a “chilling effect” on the country’s #MeToo movement, the lawyer who successfully defended a female journalist sued by a former government minister has warned.
M. J. Akbar stepped down as a minister in 2018 after he was accused of sexual misconduct during his earlier career as a newspaper editor by a number of women, including the journalist Priya Ramani.
Akbar, who denies all the allegations, filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against Ramani accusing her of having “fabricated” her story.
This week a court in New Delhi found Ramani not guilty of the charge, which carries a sentence of up to two years in jail.
A Delhi court has dismissed a defamation case filed by former Union minister and editor M.J. Akbar against journalist Priya Ramani for levelling allegations of sexual misconduct against him, marking a milestone moment in the “Me Too” movement in India.
Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey acquitted Ramani of the charge of criminal defamation.
The court also accepted her contention that the complainant a former deputy external affairs minister in the first government headed by Narendra Modi “is not a man of stellar reputation”.
As the judge left the courtroom, journalist Natasha Badhwar, who was there to express solidarity with Ramani, cried out: “Thank you, Sir!”
A win for #Metoo and all the women who spoke up! timesnownews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesnownews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.