#MeToo: MJ Akbar's defamation case against one of the accusers in court today
New Delhi, Oct 18 (IBNS): Ex-Union Minister MJ Akbar's defamation case against one of the sexual harassment accusers will be taken up by a Delhi court on Thursday, media reports said.
Akbar has sued Priya Ramani, the first of the 20 journalists who have accused the former minister of sexual harassment, saying the latter is trying to spoil his image.
Meanwhile, Akbar on Wednesday stepped down as the Junior External Affairs Minister amid growing pressures on him to resign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also accepted Akbar's resignation.
The allegations were levelled against him at a time when the country is blown by the storm of #MeToo movement as several women shared their stories related to sexual misconduct by powerful men.
On Oct 8, Ramani had posted: "I began this piece with my MJ Akbar story. Never named him because he didn’t “do” anything. Lots of women have worse stories about this predator—maybe they’ll share. #ulti https://www.vogue.in/content/harvey-weinsteins-open-letter-sexual-harassment/amp/#click=https://t.co/A2uHiJt9zd …"
Another former colleague Ghazala Wahab also brought serious allegations of sexual harassment against Akbar.
Akbar, who returned to India on Sunday from an official trip, had denied all allegations and called them "false and fabricated".
"The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice. I could not reply earlier as I was on an official tour abroad. Accusation without evidence has become a viral fever among some sections," Akbar said in a statement.
Questioning the timing of the allegations, he said: "Why has this storm risen a few months before a general election? Is there an agenda? You be the judge. These false, baseless and wild allegations have caused irreparable damage to my reputation and goodwill."
Akbar, a former journalist, was the editor of prominent newspapers like The Telegraph and later The Asian Age.
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