MeToo: Senior Advocate Rebecca John to begin final submission on behalf of Priya Ramani in MJ Akbar defamation case

On March 17, Senior Advocate Rebecca John will begin her final submissions on behalf of journalist Priya Ramani in MJ Akbar's defamation case against her..Senior Advocate Geeta Luthra who represents MJ Akbar concluded her arguments in the case today..Educated people like journalists have to act responsibly: Luthra argues for MJ Akbar in defamation suit against Priya Ramani [LIVE UPDATES].John's arguments will be followed by a round of rebuttal by Luthra..The case is being heard by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja..Akbar had filed a defamation case against Ramani after she accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct in a series of tweets published in October 2018..Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct when she met him for a job interview in Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel in 1993..Although several women leveled allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment, Akbar had filed a criminal defamation complaint against Ramani alone..Following the allegations, Akbar was constrained to step down as the Minister of State, External Affairs..According to Akbar, Ramani’s allegations are “fabricated non-events” and a ‘figment of imagination”..Based on the witness testimonies, Luthra has asserted that Akbar had an “impeccable reputation” which was irreparably damaged due to Ramani’s tweets and her Vogue article..It was argued that Ramani's allegations are per se defamatory and made maliciously in an irresponsible manner..Relying on a case laws, Luthra asserted during the course of her arguments,"One need not prove that the statement was made with ill-will ... every person is deemed to have the knowledge of the consequences that would follow..".Especially in cases of educated persons like journalists, Luthra has argued that knowledge about the consequences of such an allegation has to be presumed and the responsibility is much higher..Luthra has also rejected Ramani’s claim that only a portion of the Vogue Article titled “To the Harvey Weinsteins of the World” referred to her experience at the hands of Akbar..She has asserted that Ramani's tweets indicated that the entire article was about Akbar and it was only before the Court that Ramani had acknowledged that only a certain portion from the article referred to Akbar..Geeta Luthra is being assisted by Advocate Sandeep Kapur, Senior Partner at Karanjawala and Co.