In a defamation case filed by former Union minister M J Akbar against journalist Priya Ramani, a Delhi court has reserved for January 29 its order on whether to summon Ramani as an accused in the case. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal reserved the order after listening to arguments from Akbar’s lawyer, who said a prima facie case was made out against Ramani.
Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media when he was in Nigeria as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India. Ramani had accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago, which was denied by him.