New Delhi, October 31: BJP leader and former Union Minister MJ Akbar on Wednesday recorded his statement before the Delhi's Patiala House Court in the defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani. The bench took cognizance of his testament and fixed November 12 as the next date of hearing.

Akbar, in his statement before the court, said Ramani - who was the first to level #MeToo allegations against him on social media - pressed "defamatory" charges against him in public without backing them with evidence. MJ Akbar Resigns as MoS For External Affairs Amid #MeToo Allegations.

"The defamatory/offending portion in particular apart from the rest of the article is when she (Ramani) referred to me a 'talented predator” and an expert on 'so-and-so'," the ex-Union MoS said.

"Opening sentence of her tweet explained one anomaly. When article was first published in Vogue, it didn't include my name. When she was asked about it, she said it was because 'I had done nothing'. Clearly she was advised by Vogue that including my name would invite liability," he added.

"There was an immediate damage because of the scurrilous nature of the concocted and false allegations. I was attacked about the alleged and fabricated non-events," AKbar was further quoted as saying.

Urging the court to act punitively against Ramani, Akbar said his resignation from the External Affairs Ministry was necessitated due to "malicious" allegations.

"I chose to seek justice in my personal capacity without the appurtenance of the office and that's why I resigned," he said.

The criminal defamation suit was admitted by the Patiala House Court on October 18. However, 20 other journalists have come out in support of Ramani, and testified against Akbar in a joint statement. The scribes claim that they were sexually harassed by Akbar when he presided over the editorial team in the Asian Age.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 31, 2018 01:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).