Hear Our Accounts Against Akbar Too: 20 Asian Age Journos to Court

The journalists, in a statement, appealed with the court to hear their testomonies too in the defamation case.

File image of Union minister MJ Akbar. 

(Photo: IANS)

At least 20 former and current women employees at The Asian Age – formerly helmed by MoS External Affairs MJ Akbar – have come out in support of Priya Ramani, against whom the Minister filed a defamation suit for accusing him of sexual harassment.

The journalists, in a statement issued on Tuesday, 16 October, appealed with Delhi’s Patiala House Court, where the defamation suit has been filed, to hear their testimonies as well in the case.

According to Scroll, the journalists in their statement said that Akbar’s decision to take the legal course has demonstrated his “refusal to introspect, acknowledge or atone for his actions that have caused immense pain and indeed harm to many many women over the years.”

Adding that Ramani was not alone in her fight, the statement read:

“We would request the honourable court hearing the defamation case to also consider testimonies of sexual harassment of some of us at the hands of the petitioner, as also of the other signatories who bore witness to this harassment.”

The signatories include Meenal Baghel, Manisha Pande, Tushita Patel, Kanika Gahlaut, Suparna Sharma, Ramola Talwar Badam, Kaniza Gazari, Malavika Banerjee, AT Jayanthi, Hamida Parkar, Jonali Buragohain, Sanjari Chatterjee Meenakshi Kumar, Sujata Dutta Sachdeva, Hoihnu Hauzel, Reshmi Chakraborty, Kushalrani Gulab, Aisha Khan, Kiran Manral, and Christina Francis.

Meanwhile, the defamation case has been listed by the court for hearing on Thursday, 18 October.