Vindication and hope: Ramani’s acquittal blazes a trail
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 18
Vindication and hope summed up all shades of reactions to the historic rejection of MJ Akbar’s defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani who stuck to the truth for two years and triumphed in the ultimate battle of nerves on Wednesday.
As Akbar’s claim of “damage to his stellar reputation” crumbled under the weight of Ramani and her fellow scribe Ghazala Wahab’s shocking accounts of sexual and psychological assault at the hands of the former editor, a sense of victory pervaded every heart that stood in solidarity with the duo.
“I feel vindicated and hope this verdict would help more and more women speak up besides discouraging men in positions of power from filing false cases against those who share their truth,” said a beaming Ramani who would have leave her ten-year-old daughter in Bengaluru to attend 53 hearings in Delhi through more than 28 months.
Ramani repeated on Thursday what she had all along maintained in court – “Akbar’s criminal defamation suit is an attempt to create a chilling effect and keep other women from speaking up.”
Throughout the arduous battle in court, where male lawyers would often snigger each time Ramani and Wahab took the stand to recount their trauma, the duo had senior advocate Rebecca John for company and courage.
John, best known for representing DMK’s Kanimozhi in the 2G Spectrum case, described the Akbar-Ramani case as “probably the most important case of her life.”
After fighting a powerful former minister, represented by a top legal firm and 99 lawyers, John said, “When you fight powerful people and you have only truth by your side, the journey becomes relevant to you personally. For two years I have watched Priya and her husband fly over to Delhi from Bengaluru to attend the hearings. Priya never once stepped back from truth. She never retracted. She defended it till the end.”
John said the case was “very very difficult.”
“You saw how difficult it was even inside the courtroom to get your word across. This case was challenging also in respect of the defences that were taken. These were defences people normally do not take. Probably this was the most important case of my life,” said John as the Indian #MeToo movement had its first Harvey Weinstein moment.
Women across the media world cheered the verdict saying it would give them the confidence to call a spade a spade and demand safer workplaces.
Ghazala Wahab whose testimony proved key in demolishing Akbar’s case, noted, “This is a day to remember that MeToo is not a movement. It is a consciousness about demanding and expecting safe workplaces, whether at home or outside. Women, who can, must always stand up for themselves and for those who are unable to stand for themselves, we have Priya Ramani.”
After the verdict, #MeToo once again trended on Twitter after two years as women remembered how it started on October 8, 2018, when Ramani tweeted, “I began this piece with my MJ Akbar story; never named him because he did not do anything.”
The tweet carried Ramani’s Vogue article about a sexual predator.
