Priya Ramani Acquitted in Defamation Case by MJ Akbar

A Delhi Court, on Wednesday, 17 February, acquitted journalist Priya Ramani in the defamation case brought on against her by former Union Minister MJ Akbar.

held that the content of Priya Ramani’s Vogue article is per se defamatory, and has rejected Ramani’s claim that only two paragraphs and not the entire article were related to Akbar. However, the court also took consideration of systematic abuse at workplace, and said:

“Women can't be punished for raising instances of sexual abuse by complaints claiming defamation.”

After both parties, along with their lawyers, and Ramani’s defence witness Ghazala Wahab assembled in the court on Wednesday, 17 February, the judge said he needed 30 minutes to make some minor corrections to the verdict.