Akbar and Tejpal are accused of sexual harassment and rape. The Editors Guild has also sought response from former Times of India editor Gautam Adhikari.
New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India (EGI) Wednesday suspended journalist and former minister of state (MoS) for external affairs in the Modi government M.J. Akbar following allegations of sexual harassment and rape against him during the #MeToo movement.
Former editor of Tehelka magazine Tarun Tejpal, who had earlier been jailed in a rape case, has also been suspended.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, the EGI said it had sought the views of its executive committee on action to be taken against Akbar, Tejpal and Times of India editor Gautam Adhikari, who also faces charges of sexual misconduct.
“Office-bearers of the Guild discussed the EC’s comments and took the decision on the matter. It has concurred with the majority view that Mr Akbar should be suspended from the Guild till such time that the court case he has filed is concluded. Using the same logic, the Office-bearers decided that Mr Tejpal too should be suspended from the Guild. For Mr Adhikari, the Office-bearers decided that the Guild will write to him seeking a formal response to the charges against him,” the EGI statement read.
Also read: MJ Akbar: The brilliant editor who’s now seen as India’s most high-profile sexual predator
Sexual harassment & rape charges
Charges against Akbar surfaced during India’s #MeToo campaign, which took the media by storm in the last two months. Following calls for his resignation, Akbar finally quit his post as MoS external affairs. However, before resigning, he filed a defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, who was the first to accuse him of sexual harassment.
Tejpal was accused of rape by one of his junior colleagues at Tehelka in 2013. The woman had alleged that Tejpal had assaulted her in the elevator of a hotel in Goa. Following this, he stepped down as editor.
Poor Tarun Tejpal ! He was enjoying his innocence till now in the EGI but got caught in the mess created by Akbar !
The regret that we can have is the following: why so much time to get to this suspension? Of course, as long as we are not convicted we are innocent. But given the functions occupied by these people one may wonder if the suspension should not have intervened rather. The hesitation destroys the credibility of the concerned institutions, and somehow it weakens the democracy.
Why did they wait till now to suspend Tejpal? It sounds like a compromise to appear impartial, because all they really wanted is to suspend MJ Akbar.
Praiseworthy.