#Metoo: Akbar denies calling Priya Ramani in hotel room

NEW DELHI: Former Union minister M J Akbar told a Delhi court on Monday that he did not ask scribe Priya Ramani, who has accused him of sexual misconduct in #Metoo campaign, to see him in his hotel room in 1994 in connection with her alleged interview to join a newspaper of which he was the editor.

Akbar, who had resigned as minister on October 17 last year following the allegations levelled during the campaign, vehemently objected to the questions of Ramani's counsel about other women scribes who had also accused him of sexual misconduct. The scribe-turned BJP politician was being cross-examined by senior advocate Rebecca John, counsel for Ramani, before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, in connection with his private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani. "It is incorrect to suggest that I called Priya Ramani to come to my room. It is wrong to suggest that she was hesitant or that I insisted... I do not know whether it was the first job interview by Priya Ramani after her graduation.

"I am not sure whether Priya Ramani was offered a job in the Asian Age newspaper in January 1994 in Delhi Office. As it is a 25 years old matter and to the best of my knowledge, she was working in Bombay office," Akbar testified.

Ramani had tweeted about Akbar's alleged objectionable behaviour in the hotel room. Her counsel asked questions regarding other women scribes and their allegations against Akbar. The queries were strongly protested by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, representing the former minister and she said that the questions were "irrelevant" as they were not related to the case at hand. "These are all part of my (Ramani's) defence as it shows his (Akbar's) behaviour," Ramani's counsel replied leading to the heated exchange between the two women senior lawyers of the parties.

The magistrate allowed Ramani's lawyer to keep asking questions to Akbar and also agreed to record the objections of Akbar with regard to such queries. During the cross-examination, questions were put to him regarding other women journalists, including Ghazala Wahab, Kadambari M Wade, Majlie de Puy Kamp, Sonali Khullar Shroff and Harinder Baweja, who had accused Akbar of sexual misconduct.

Akbar said he had refuted the allegations

levelled by Wahab in an article. In response to another query, Akbar said he could not recall whether Wade worked with him as the matter was 20-year old. Regarding allegations made by Kamp, he said "there was absolutely no question of harassment of the

lady Kamp. I recall there might have been a mention of some misunderstanding which was accepted".