Delhi High Court Adjourns MJ Akbar's Appeal In Priya Ramani Verdict Till August 11

MJ Akbar Appeal: Delhi High Court has adjourned the hearing in the appeal by former Union Minister MJ Akbar challenging the acquittal of journalist Priya Ramani to 11th August. The former minister had filed a criminal defamation case over the #metoo allegations made by her which went on for two years. He has now challenged the trial court verdict.

In February 2021 the Trial court said, “right of reputation can’t be protected at the cost of right to dignity," and acquitted the journalist saying that the case of the complainant is not proved. The Delhi High Court today said, there are “far more important matters” and adjourned the hearing till August 11. Akbar had challenged the Trial court order passed on February 17th.

Delhi High Court adjourns to 11th August hearing in the appeal by former Union Minister MJ Akbar challenging the acquittal of journalist Priya Ramani in the criminal defamation case filed by him over the "metoo" sexual harassment allegations made by her. pic.twitter.com/mcKyV3IQRe

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Justice Mukta Gupta said, “This is not special category matter. There are far more important matters… There is no urgency," the Indian Express reported.

Ramani’s allegations against the former minister date back to 1993. Ramani first brought the allegations of sexual misconduct openly between 2017 and 2018, when #MeToo movement took over social media in India. At the time, her story grabbed headlines as she dared to name MJ Akbar who has the Minister for External Affairs. He resigned from his post in October 2018.

After her acquittal in Feb2021, Ramani spoke to SheThePeople. She said, "All women know I am telling the truth. They’ve heard this story so many times, they’ve experienced this story, they’ve been me. Just to see me stand up and go through this process has been very empowering for a lot of people.”

You can see the interview here: