Delhi High Court Today (April 22) asked Medha Patkar to approach the sessions court to request delay in paying Rs 1 lakh fine in a defamation case. The case was filed by Delhi LG V.K. Saxena over a 2000 press release.
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court told social activist Medha Patkar to go to the sessions court first if she wants more time to deposit a fine of Rs 1 lakh. This fine was given to her in a defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V.K. Saxena.
The case was filed 23 years ago when Saxena was working with an NGO in Gujarat.
Earlier, the sessions court had found 70-year-old Medha Patkar guilty of defamation. But on April 8, the same court decided not to send her to jail and instead released her on “probation of good conduct”. However, the court added a condition – she must pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
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Probation means that the person who is found guilty does not go to jail immediately. Instead, they are released with a condition to behave properly for a certain time. If they do anything wrong again, they may be sent to jail.
In the Delhi High Court, Justice Shalinder Kaur said she would not consider Patkar’s request to stop the sentence execution or delay the fine payment. So Patkar’s lawyer said that they would file the same request in the sessions court.
“You first follow the trial court order and then I will consider your plea. Don’t come to the court on the last day,”
-said Justice Kaur when Patkar’s lawyer informed the judge that the sessions court would look into the matter on Wednesday.
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On that day, Patkar has to give the probation bond and pay the amount.
The High Court then accepted the lawyer’s submission and said that the trial court should handle the matter legally. It also kept the next hearing for May 19. That day is already fixed to hear Patkar’s appeal against the April 2 sessions court decision that upheld her conviction, which was earlier given by a magisterial court.
According to the order by the magisterial court dated July 1, 2024, Patkar – who is the leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) – was found guilty under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (defamation). She was sentenced to five months of simple imprisonment and was also asked to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh.
But on April 8, 2025, in a major relief, the sessions court released her on “probation of good conduct” in the same defamation case.
The sessions court also said it was “modifying” the previous order given by the magistrate, where Patkar was sentenced to five months in jail. Now, she only had to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation. This amount would be given to the complainant, V.K. Saxena. The court added that this compensation would be recovered as fine, as per law.
The court also stated,
“On deposit of compensation amount, convict or appellant Medha Patkar shall furnish a probation bond of Rs 25,000 with one surety of like amount for an operative period of one year from the date of furnishing the probation bond.”
This defamation case was filed by Saxena long ago, in 2000, when he was the president of the National Council of Civil Liberties, a Gujarat-based NGO. The case was based on a “defamatory press release” that Patkar issued on November 24, 2000.
ALSO READ: Defamation Case | Medha Patkar Moves Delhi High Court to Challenge Conviction
On May 24, 2024, the magistrate had ruled that Patkar’s statements calling Saxena a “coward” and accusing him of being involved in hawala transactions were clearly defamatory. The court said these remarks were not only offensive but also “crafted to incite negative perceptions” about Saxena.
Further, the magistrate court pointed out that her statement, which accused Saxena of “mortgaging” the people of Gujarat and their resources to foreign interests, was a serious attack on his honesty and public service.
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