The Patiala House court on Thursday will hear MJ Akbar's criminal defamation complaint against journalist Priya Ramani, who has accused him of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago. Akbar on Wednesday evening tendered his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs. Read | MJ Akbar resigns after flurry of #MeToo allegations "Since I have decided to seek justice in a court of law in my personal capacity, I deem it appropriate to step down from office and challenge false accusations levied against me, also in a personal capacity. I have, therefore, tendered my resignation from the office of Minister of State for External Affairs. I am deeply grateful to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and to the External Affairs Minister Smt Sushma Swaraj for the opportunity they gave me to serve my country," Akbar said in his statement. Read | MJ Akbar versus Priya Ramani: 20 women journalists speak up to be counted Akbar's lawyer Sandeep Kapur told news agency PTI that the criminal defamation case will come up for hearing on Thursday before additional chief metropolitan magistrate Samar Vishal. Kapur said since the matter is subjudice and the law will take its own course. "Since we have already filed the defamation case, we will pursue it in the court," he added. Follow | The #MeToo tracker by The Indian Express Earlier on Monday, MJ Akbar filed a criminal defamation complaint against Ramani terming the allegations against him as “baseless” and “fabricated” and made with the motive of maligning his reputation. After he returned from abroad, Akbar claimed that the woman journalist, while putting forward the allegations relating to incidents which allegedly occurred 20 years ago, "intentionally put forward malicious, fabricated, and salacious imputations to harm the reputation of the complainant". Reacting to Akbar's statement, journalist Priya Ramani had said, "Rather than engage with the serious allegations that many women have made against him, he (Akbar) seeks to silence them through intimidation and harassment." (With inputs from PTI)
