MJ’S SLEDGEHAMMER: 97 LAWYERS ROPED IN

Files private criminal defamation complaint against the first journalist who levelled charges against him; scribe says truth is her only defence and she won’t be intimidated

Keen to douse the #MeToo fires at the earliest, Union Minister M J Akbar went on the offensive on Monday by filing a private criminal defamation complaint against Priya Ramani, the first journalist who levelled charges of sexual misconduct against him.

The sections that Akbar's lawyers have invoked carry a maximum punishment of two years in prison. The Union Minister is thus attempting to put not just Ramani but all the other #MeToo complainants on the back foot.

Akbar has decided to use a legal sledge hammer to snuff the air out of the #MeToo movement. The ‘vakalatnama’ in the case lists 97 lawyers who have been authorised by his legal firm, Karanjawala & Co, to appear in the case. The firm defended the naming of 97 advocates as a ‘standard practice’ and stated that only six will appear in the case.

However, there were some like Supreme Court lawyer and BJP Leader Ashwini Upadhyay who questioned the move. “One Vakalatnama has only one lawyer and this is not the standard practice,’’ he told News18.

In his defamation suit, Akbar has accused Ramani of "wilfully, deliberately, intentionally and maliciously defaming" him on "completely false, frivolous, unjustifiable and scandalous grounds" and harming his goodwill and reputation.

The accusations date back to the time when Akbar was in the media and was the editor of a national daily. Reacting to the defamation case, Ramani said she was ready to fight. "Truth and the absolute truth is my only defence," she said as she accused Akbar of attempting to silence women through" intimidation and harassment ". Ram a ni also protested against Akbar's statement and said it pays "no heed to the trauma and fear of survivors." She said that the women who came out with details of sexual harassment had done so "at great risk to their personal and professional lives." "At this moment, it is disingenuous to ask why they have spoken now, as we are well aware of the stigma and shame that sexual crimes inflict upon victims," Ramani pointed out. "By instituting a case of criminal defamation aga-inst me, Mr Akbar has made his stand clear: rather than engage with the serious allegations that many women have made against him, he seeks to silence them through intimidation and harassment," Ramani said. In its first comments, the BJP said in its first official statement that Akbar has given his version of the row and and it is not about whether the party agrees or disagrees with him.

The Youth Congress activists on Monday staged a protest near Akbar’s residence, demanding his "immediate resignation."