#MeToo: Court asks if there is chance of settlement between Akbar, Ramani in defamation complaint

A Delhi court on asked if there is chance of settlement between Akbar and Ramani in the defamation complaint. The court has asked both the parties to respond on the point of settlement and get back on November 24.

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday asked former Union minister M J Akbar and journalist Priya Ramani whether there was a chance of settlement between them in a criminal defamation complaint filed by him against her.

Akbar had filed the complaint against Ramani for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist.

Ramani had said the allegations against Akbar, made in the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018, were her truth and were made in public good.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM)Ravindra Kumar Pandey posed the query on Saturday as he started hearing afresh the final arguments in the case since the previous judge hearing the matter was transferred to another court on Wednesday.

The court has asked both the parties to respond on the point of settlement and get back on November 24, the next to date of hearing.

PTI