Journalist Priya Ramani was the first among nearly 20 women to accuse MJ Akbar, a former editor, of sexual misconduct.
New Delhi: Former minister of state for external affairs M.J. Akbar appeared before Delhi’s Patiala House Court Wednesday to depose in the criminal defamation case he filed against journalist Priya Ramani earlier this month.
Speaking before additional chief metropolitan magistrate Samar Vishal, Akbar maintained his innocence, terming Ramani’s allegations of sexual harassment against him as “concocted, false and baseless”.
Ramani was the first among nearly 20 women to accuse Akbar, a former editor, of sexual misconduct.
In October 2017, Ramani had written an article in Vogue India, in which she accused an unnamed man, then 20 years senior to her, of sexual harassment. “You’re an expert on obscene phone calls, texts, inappropriate compliments and not taking no for an answer,” she wrote.
Nearly a year later, on 8 October, Ramani tweeted a link to the article, identifying Akbar as the alleged perpetrator of the harassment.
https://twitter.com/priyaramani/status/1049279608263245824
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Arguments against Ramani’s claims
In his deposition, Akbar highlighted two facets of Ramani’s allegations to bolster his claims that he was “attacked in my personal capacity about alleged and fabricated non events”.
“Your honour, when referring to the tweet when I first saw it, I would like to draw your attention to a very important fact,” Akbar said.
“The opening sentence of this tweet explained one anomaly. When the article was first published in Vogue, it did not include my name. Ms Ramani stated as to why she had not included my name earlier, she said it was because ‘I had done nothing’,” he added.
The second facet underscored by Akbar is that the alleged incident took place “two decades ago”.
Senior advocate Geeta Luthra, Akbar’s main counsel in the case, used the same reasoning to argue against the credibility of Ramani’s tweets and articles when she first presented the case in the Patiala House Court two weeks ago.
This line of reasoning — that delays in filing complaints suggests inauthenticity — was deployed during her defence of Tarun Tejpal as well as Shashi Shekhar Thakur’s bail plea in the Delhi High Court in 2016. The latter had been accused by his niece of rape and sexual abuse spanning more than a decade.
Damage to his ‘stellar reputation’
“My reputation has been lowered because of false, baseless accusations and allegations …made intentionally and deliberately by Ms Priya Ramani…,” Akbar said in court.
Talking about the damage done to his reputation since the first allegation surfaced earlier this month, Akbar said the immediate reaction came from his family and friends the moment he returned home on 14 October, from his official tour in Africa.
“Friends came over deeply upset. My colleagues were understandably effected. I also received many calls questioning me about the allegations made by Ms Priya Ramani,” Akbar said,
In addition, Akbar said the allegations have irreparably damaged his “stellar reputation and good name” that he has worked “for over four decades in building”.
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Akbar traces his political, professional journey
In order to establish this “good name,” Akbar began his deposition by tracing the journey of his professional and political career.
To do this, he mentioned his schooling in Kolkata and his subsequent rise in the ranks in the journalism industry.
‘In 1983 I started a daily newspaper called The Telegraph. I continued as editor of The Asian Age in 1993 and then as editorial director of India Today. I was also founder editor of the Sunday Guardian,” Akbar said.
“Parallel to this, I wrote a number of internationally acclaimed books on the history of sub-continent and our country India,” he added, correcting himself shortly after to reiterate, “Of my country India.”
As proof of his intellectual contribution, Luthra and Sandeep Kapur, partner at the legal firm Karanjawala and Co, submitted six books written by Akbar as exhibits before the court.
Akbar then went on to trace his entry into public life, stating that “At the moment I’m a Member of Parliament, I am MP.”
He covered his trajectory from BJP spokesperson to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in 2015.
As for his two years spent as junior minister, Akbar said he was grateful for being given “the high privilege of serving the honourable prime minister as minister of state”.
“I considered that to be a high point in my long career and am grateful at the opportunity I got to serve the government and my country,” he added.
The next hearing has been scheduled for 12 November, in which Akbar’s counsel is expected to produce a set of witnesses in the case. As per the current list filed by them in court, they include Syed Habibur Rehman, Joyeeta Basu, Veenu Sandal, Manzar Ali, Sunil Gujral and Tapan Chaki.
M J Akbar has bitten off more than he can chew. The ministerial aura – admittedly of a sarkari Mussalman – that briefly enveloped him has faded. The four day delay in tendering his resignation – with people who ought to have known better thinking the storm in a tea cup would “ blow over “ – has given the worst of both worlds, neither brazen holding power nor moral high ground. The criminal defamation suit – which the Editors’ Guild requested him to withdraw, for it goes against the tenets of journalism – was a desperate ploy to shock and awe the victims into silence. Not even the Vakalat Nama, which has more names than the runs M S Dhoni scores nowadays, impressed. Me Too has been validated in ways many the perpetrators could not have foreseen. Why did the ladies not speak up earlier is not a promising line of defence. Attainments in journalism or brand building are neither here nor there while judging a powerful man’s conduct in the presence of women who were in some ways at a disadvantage before him. Suhel Seth has been more sensible than M J Akbar. Since this issue is now the subject of a criminal trial, all the women who have been wronged by Mr M J Akbar should consider invoking criminal jurisdiction against him as well. They will not want for credible witnesses, who will weather cross examination better than he will.