Priya Ramani is an Indian journalist, writer, and editor. In October 2018, during the
Me Too movement in India, Ramani alleged sexual harassment against now-former Minister of State for External Affairs
M.J. Akbar, and in February 2021, Ramani was acquitted in the criminal defamation case Akbar had filed against her. In October 2020, Ramani co-created the India Love Project on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
.
Career
Ramani began working at ''
The Asian Age
''The Asian Age'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper with editions published in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. It also prints an "international edition" in London. It was launched in February 1994.
The same publishing company also prod ...
'' in 1994, then
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
, ''
Elle
''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
'', ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
'', ''
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
'' magazine and ''Mint Lounge''.
Ramani has also written for
Livemint
''Mint'' is an Indian financial daily newspaper published by HT Media, a Delhi-based media group which is controlled by the K. K. Birla family that also publishes ''Hindustan Times''. It mostly targets readers who are business executives and ...
,
Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
,
and ''
Vogue India
''Vogue India'' is the Indian edition of the monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine ''Vogue''. It is the 17th international edition of ''Vogue'' and the first edition in South Asia. ''Vogue India'' is published by Condé Nast India Pvt. Ltd., a ...
''. Ramani led ''Mint Lounge'' for eight years.
She is an editor at large at
Juggernaut Books
Juggernaut Books (informally Juggernaut) is digital book publishing house headquartered in New Delhi, India. The publisher emphasizes on short length books written by new writers. It also allows writers to self-publish their books through their ...
for its digital properties.
Ramani also serves as an editorial board member of ''Article 14'', a website about the rule of law in India.
''Vogue India''
On 12 October 2017, ''
Vogue India
''Vogue India'' is the Indian edition of the monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine ''Vogue''. It is the 17th international edition of ''Vogue'' and the first edition in South Asia. ''Vogue India'' is published by Condé Nast India Pvt. Ltd., a ...
'' published an article by Ramani titled "To the Harvey Weinsteins of the world," that was styled as an open letter, beginning with "Dear Male Boss"
and including a description of sexual harassment during a job interview in a Mumbai hotel room when she was 23 years old. In the article, Ramani did not name the person who interviewed her.
#MeToo
In October 2018, Ramani made the allegation of sexual harassment against now-former Union minister and veteran journalist
M.J. Akbar on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in a tweet during the
#MeToo movement.
On 8 October 2018, Ramani tweeted with a reference to her 2017 ''Vogue India'' piece, stating "I began this piece with my MJ Akbar story. Never named him because he didn’t "do" anything. Lots of women have worse stories about this predator—maybe they'll share."
Soon after Ramani's tweets, more women accused Akbar of sexual misconduct during his career as a journalist.
Criminal defamation case
Filing
M.J. Akbar filed a criminal defamation case against Ramani on 15 October 2018, and resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs on 17 October 2018;
at the time, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described Akbar as "the most prominent figure so far to be felled by the #MeToo movement sweeping the world's largest democracy."
Bhawana Bisht, writing for ''
SheThePeople.TV
''SheThePeople.TV'' is an Indian digital media website that focuses on women related news and entertainment in video format, though "The Women's Channel" has a large amount of text based content as well. It was launched in 2015 by an Indian journ ...
'', described the case against Ramani as an example of a
SLAPP lawsuit
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with t ...
and "a way to drag the women to court and intimidate them until they withdraw."
Ramani pleaded not guilty,
and faced a prison sentence up to two years.
Court process
In January 2019, Ramani was summoned to court, and in February, granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000.
In June, ''
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
'' described Ramani's case as one of two "high-profile criminal defamation cases
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
have recently shaken the country’s #MeToo movement."
Senior Advocate
Rebecca Mammen John represented Ramani, and in September 2020, John told the court, "A true imputation made in the public good is not defamation... it is not defamation to make an imputation on the character of another when it is made in good faith for the protection of his or other's interest."
John also said, "Priya Ramani's alleged defamatory tweets and the ''Vogue'' article were her truth. I am saying this is my (Ramani's) truth... it is the truth, is in good faith, touching public good."
Ramani told the court on 7 September 2020, "It was my hope that the disclosures, which were part of #MeToo, would empower women to speak up for their rights at the workplace. This case has come at great personal cost to me. I had nothing to gain from it. I am a very well regarded journalist. I live a quiet life with my family in Bangalore," and "By keeping silent, I could have avoided the subsequent targeting. But that wouldn’t have been the right thing to do."
On 19 September, John asserted the critical importance of freedom of speech and expression to a democracy, and said Ramani was a "small part" of the larger #MeToo movement.
John also argued that Ramani's allegation of sexual harassment was supported by other women who made similar allegations against Akbar, including journalist Ghazala Wahab.
John concluded with a reference to a
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
quote and said that the #MeToo Movement began to correct a "structural wrong."
After John completed her presentation, and before Akbar's senior advocate
Geeta Luthra
Geeta Luthra is a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of India.
Career
Luthra began practicing law in the 1980s. For thirty years, she practiced law with Senior Advocate Pinky Anand. Luthra's legal practice experience includes criminal law, ...
was to begin, the court decided to transfer the case to another court in what was described as a "controversial" transfer.
On 22 October, the case was sent back to the court.
In November 2020, Senior Advocate Geeta Luthra submitted to the court on behalf of Akbar that Ramani made the statements out of vengeance, not the public good, and Ramani failed to produce evidence of her allegations and failed to apologize for the statements.
On 21 November 2020, the court asked Ramani and Akbar to consider a settlement of the case.
On 24 November 2020, John informed the court on behalf of Ramani that there was no chance of a settlement.
Due to a transfer of judges, the matter would now be heard again before the new judge.
On 10 December 2020, John told the court that workplace sexual harassment is a "matter of public interest" that "has been recognized as a violation of the fundamental rights of women."
On 14 December, Ramani submitted to the court through John that "
#MeToo came to India in 2018. It wasn't a crime to speak up on the #MeToo platform. These are acts of extreme courage that require celebration. These are not acts for which one should face defamation."
On 18 December 2020, Ramani alleged in court through John that Akbar did not approach the court with clean hands.
Over 20 women have alleged sexual harassment by Akbar while they were working as journalists under him, and John told the court that Ramani was not the first to tweet against Akbar: "Several women had tweeted. Ghazala Wahab tweeted two days before. Shunali Khullar Shroff and Prerna Singh Bhindra tweeted before her."
John said 15 women had accused Akbar of sexual harassment by the time he filed the case against Ramani in October 2018, and Akbar "played a fraud" by failing to mention the other accusations against him when he filed and then claiming that only Ramani's statement defamed him.
On 22 December 2020, Luthra told the court, "People on responsible position like journalists should not make such allegations on social media. They should come to court instead." On 24 December, in court, Akbar denied meeting Ramani in the hotel where she alleged the sexual harassment happened. On 4 January 2021, Luthra stated in court that "without any investigation or basis," Ramani referred to Akbar as "media's biggest sexual predator" in a tweet about Akbar's resignation. On 18 January, in response to Ramani's point about the other allegtions made against Akbar, Luthra told the court, "Harm is done by the man who instigates and ignites the flame first." On 21 January, Luthra told the court that Ramani's deletion of her own Twitter account before cross-examination was deliberate and intended "to subserve the cause of justice."
Ramani's counsel Rebecca John began final arguments on 27 January 2021, stating Akbar's arguments do not make sense based on a plain reading of Ramani's ''Vogue'' article, and that the testimony of Ghazala Wahab, who has accused Akbar of sexual assault, as well as a ''Firstpost'' article introduced by Akbar's legal team that provided details of allegations against Akbar, were relevant support for Ramani's reference to Akbar as a 'predator.'
On 1 February, John continued to address Luthra's arguments, including about Ramani's Twitter account, noting it had only been deactivated, not deleted, and Akbar had never filed a request and the court had not required reactivation of the accourt.
During the final argument, John submitted to the court, "Mr. Akbar went after Ms. Ramani as she was a soft target and did not go after other women because he was afraid."
Verdict
On 17 February 2021, the court dismissed the complaint against Ramani, stating the charges had not been proven.
In the ruling, Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey wrote, "Despite how well respected some persons are in the society, they in their personal lives, could show extreme cruelty to the females," and "The time has come for our society to understand the sexual abuse and sexual harassment and its implications on victims."
Pandey continued, "The woman cannot be punished for raising (her) voice against the sex abuse on the pretext of criminal complaint of defamation, as the right of reputation cannot be protected at the cost of the right of life and dignity of woman as guaranteed in the Indian Constitution."
After the verdict, Ramani stated it "feels great to have your truth validated before court," and "It feels amazing, truly does. I feel vindicated on behalf of all the women who have ever spoken out against sexual harassment at work place. It was me, the victim, who had to stand up in the court as an accused. I thank everyone who stood by me, especially my witnesses Ghazala Wahab and Niloufer Venkatraman, who came to the court and testified on my behalf," and she thanked her lawyer Rebecca Mammen John and her legal team.
Activists and lawyers also praised the verdict.
Sowmya Rajendran
Sowmya Rajendran is an Indian writer. She is the winner of Sahitya Akademi's 2015 Bal Sahitya Puraskar and has written over 20 books. She has written young adult fiction, picture books and inspirational books for children.
Career
Rajendran's w ...
described Ramani as a "trailblazer", and wrote "because of her courage, there will be many more women who come after her, who will believe in their right to speak and be heard, too."
Appeal
On 11 August 2021, Akbar filed an appeal with the
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...
, challenging the verdict. On 13 January 2022, the Delhi High Court accepted the case for review.
India Love Project
On 28 October 2020, Ramani, her husband
Samar Halarnkar, and their friend Niloufer Venkatraman created the India Love Project (ILP) on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
, as "a celebration of interfaith/inter-caste love and togetherness in these divisive, hate-filled times" where people are invited to people to submit personal or family stories about love transcending religious and communal identities.
ILP began in response to backlash against an advertising campaign that featured an interfaith couple, and has expanded to help couples find legal and counseling assistance.
Ramani said the idea for ILP started with the increasing controversy over religious conversion laws (also known as "love jihad" laws).
Education
Ramani studied psychology at St Xavier's College in Mumbai and journalism at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Personal life
Ramani is married to journalist
Samar Halarnkar.
References
External links
How a Journalist Was Tried for Saying #MeToo(Mekhala Saran, The Quint, 10 February 2021)
Natasha Badhwar on Priya Ramani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramani, Priya
Living people
Indian journalists
Indian women writers
Indian women editors
Indian women columnists
Indian women journalists
Year of birth missing (living people)
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni
Temple University alumni