HC reserves order on summoning Ramani in defamation case filed by M J Akbar

A Delhi court on Tuesday reserved for January 29 its order on whether to summon journalist Priya Ramani as an accused in a defamation case filed by former union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal reserved the order after listening to arguments from Akbar's lawyer, who said a prima facie case was made out against Ramani.

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media when he was in Nigeria as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago, which was denied by him.