Delhi court grants bail to journalist Priya Ramani in defamation case filed MJ Akbar

New Delhi, Feb 25: Delhi's Patiala House Court Monday granted bail to journalist Priya Ramani on a personal bail bond of Rs 10,000 in connection with criminal defamation complaint filed by former central minister MJ Akbar. The next date of hearing is 8 March.

The court had summoned scribe Priya Ramani as an accused in a defamation case on Jan 29 after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against MJ Akbar in the #MeToo campaign.

The court directed Ramani to appear before it on February 25 after noting that the allegations made against Akbar were "prima facie defamatory" and he had denied all the accusations as "false and imaginary".

Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. He has denied the accusations. The witnesses brought by Akbar also proved that the reputation of the complainant was lowered in their estimation, the court said.

The three witnesses -- Tapan Chaki, Manjar Ali and Rachna Grover -- who were associated with Akbar earlier deposed before the court, saying they were extremely "distressed and dismayed" as grave damage has been caused to his reputation due to the allegations.

(With PTI inputs)