Defamation suits at India's #MeToo complainants could stall movement

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Defamation lawsuits filed by two people in the United States of America.

The movement, that began in the United States just a year ago in response to accusations of sexual assault and harassment in the entertainment industry, gained traction in India in the past two weeks after a Bollywood actress India's biggest comedy group.

Since then, more than a few men in politics, media, entertainment and the arts have been accused of a range of offenses, with several prominent figures being resigned or being suspended.

The boxes have transfixed India, published on the front page of the world and the world of television.

But two of those accused, junior foreign minister Mr. J. Akbar and veteran actor Alok Nath, this week launched criminal defamation suits against their accusers. Lawyers and women's groups said that they could act as deterrents to more victims coming forward.

Unlike in many countries, where defamation is a civil offense, it is a criminal offense to have a criminal offense punishable with a jail term of up to two years.

Cases typically drag on for years in India's overstretched legal system. Legal experts say defamation lawsuits, in particular, are sometimes used as a tool to stall opponents, especially against those who do not have the wherewithal to respond effectively to such cases.

"Criminal defamation is usually an arm in the face of a jail term," said Samudra Sarangi, a partner at Indian law firm Panag & Babu which represents clients in defamation lawsuits.

"Sometimes this law is used to suppress a victim's voice. Not all the victims have the emotional fortitude withstand the rigors of a criminal trial in India. "

Late on Monday, more than one hundred female authors, journalist and media figures, signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for Akbar's resignation and a government probe into the allegations.

"A criminal defamation is a clear attempt to bully, intimidate and silence those who are bringing to light systemic abuse of women by men in powerful positions," said the letter, written by the Network of Women in Media, the Foundation of Media Professionals and the Brihan Mumbai Union of Journalists.

"By ignoring this defining moment, and watching silently while a government minister, your government is giving a regressive message: that the fundamental right to life, safety and dignity of a sizeable section of the workforce does not matter "It said.

ACCUSED FIGHT BACK

They are uncompromising in the Bharatiya Janata Party and have been unanswered on Wednesday. However, Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Women & Child Development in Modi's Cabinet, previously said that the panel of judges would be set up to look at "some" of the #MeToo cases.

The opposition Congress party is piling pressure on Modi, who faces a series of big state elections later this year and a national election that is due by May 2019.

"We want to ask the prime minister on which side he stands. Is it with the women or against them? "Congress spokesman RPN Singh told reporters on Tuesday.

Akbar, who founded and edited several newspapers before joining politics.

He has called the accusations "wild and baseless".

On Monday, he filed the defamation suit against one of his accusers, journalist Priya Ramani, at Delhi short district.

Ramani had "intentionally put forward malicious, fabricated and salacious" allegations to harm his reputation, the suit alleged.

Ramani said in a statement on Twitter on Monday that it is ready to fight the defamation allegation "as truth and the absolute truth is my only defense".

Ramani and Akbar did not respond to Reuters requests for further comment on the case.

Ramani's Husband, journalist Samar Halarnkar, wrote a column on Tuesday saying the lawsuit was being used to "intimidate her, and through her to intimidate the others who have spoken and silence others who have not".

Meanwhile, Indian journalist Sucheta Dalal called for crowd-funding Ramani's legal costs in a Twitter postcard, which is more than 3,000 likes.

The other defamation case was filed by Nath against writer and producer Vinta Nanda, who recently hired him in 1999.

Nath's lawyer Ashok Sarogi has said the allegations against his client were false. He did not respond to a request to comment on the defamation suit on Tuesday. Nath and Nanda could not be reached for comment.