Delhi Court acquits journalist Priya Ramani in the MJ Akbar defamation case

Gender: A Delhi trial court has acquitted journalist Priya Ramani in the criminal defamation case filed by author-turned-politician MJ Akbar in relation to her accusation of sexual harassment.

While reading out the 91-page verdict, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey said, “Right of reputation can’t be protected at the cost of right to dignity… the time has come for our society to understand that sometimes a victim may for years not speak up due to the mental trauma. The woman cannot be punished for raising her voice against sexual abuse.”

The delay in speaking out or filing a formal complaint is often used against women to discredit their allegations. However, the court acknowledged that there was no legal framework prior to the Vishaka verdict and hence no mechanism for Ramani to seek redressal for her grievance.

Prior to 1997, there was no legal recourse for women who were sexually harassed at work. The Vishaka guidelines filled this vacuum in the law when the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 was enacted.

Although the trial was premised on Akbar and his right to reputation, it became a platform for recording allegations of sexual harassment against him. Corroborative statements by Ghazala Wahab (Executive Editor, Force magazine) and Niloufer Venkatraman, along with the absence of a legal framework, formed the basis of the court’s rationale for rejecting Akbar’s case.

In October 2018, Ramani named MJ Akbar—then a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government—in a tweet. A week later, MJ Akbar filed the criminal defamation case, two days after which he resigned as minister. The trial began in January 2019.

Read this guide on making workplaces more gender-inclusive.

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.