Medha Patkar gets one-year probation instead of jail in a defamation case filed by Delhi LG VK Saxena. The court today (april 8) recognized her social work and reduced the Rs 10 lakh penalty.
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NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has given some relief to well-known social worker Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena.
The court said that Patkar will not have to go to jail for now.
On Tuesday, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh from Saket Court said that Medha Patkar is a respected social activist who has won many awards for her work. The judge also said that the crime she was found guilty of is not so serious that she should be sent to prison.
“The court decides to release her for good conduct… She is being released on a probation of one year,”
-Judge Singh said while giving the order.
The judge also reduced the fine amount of Rs 10 lakh that was earlier put on her. Now, instead of the full fine, Patkar will give a compensation amount to VK Saxena.
Before this, a lower court (magistrate court) had found Patkar guilty of defaming Saxena. It had given her a punishment of five months in jail and a fine of Rs 10 lakh.
Judge Vishal Singh did not cancel Patkar’s conviction but kept the case for further hearing today (April 8) to decide on her final sentence.
In a previous order given on April 2, the judge had clearly said that it was proved without any doubt that Patkar had released a press note that made harmful and false statements against Saxena and damaged his image.
“The active involvement of Medha Patkar in authoring of the Press Note dated 24/11/2000 and its publication in document… is writ large on face of record. Conversely, the involvement of Medha Patkar is as hidden as an elephant behind an office table. It is only that Medha Patkar used smoke screen of virtual world of Internet to disseminate the Press Note in contention,”
-the court said in its strong words.
The court added that Patkar was rightfully punished by the magistrate court under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with the crime of defamation.
“There is no substance in appeal so far as it impugns the judgment of conviction and it is dismissed,”
-the court stated.
After the Sessions Court’s decision, Medha Patkar has now moved the Delhi High Court to challenge this order.
This case goes back to the year 2000. At that time, VK Saxena was the President of an organization named National Council of Civil Liberties. He had published an advertisement against the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), a movement led by Medha Patkar. NBA was against building dams on the Narmada river.
The advertisement published by Saxena was titled
‘True face of Ms. Medha Patkar and her Narmada Bachao Andolan’.
In response, Patkar issued a press note called ‘True Facts of a Patriot – Response to an Advertisement’. In that note, she said that Saxena had visited Malegaon, supported NBA, and even gave ₹40,000 through a cheque to a group called Lok Samiti that worked with NBA. She also said that the cheque was from the Lalbhai Group and it had bounced.
“The cheque, please note, came from Lalbhai Group. What is the connection between Lalbhai Group and VK Saxena? Who among them is more ‘Patriot’”,
-the press note stated.
This press note made Saxena file a defamation case against Patkar in Ahmedabad in 2001. Later, in 2003, the Supreme Court shifted the case to Delhi.
In July 2024, the court found Patkar guilty and sentenced her to five months in jail along with a ₹10 lakh fine. Patkar then filed an appeal before the Sessions Court, asking for relief.
Saxena said in court that he had never gone to Malegaon, never praised NBA, and did not give any cheque to Lok Samiti. He also brought witnesses who said that they had received the press note by email from Patkar.
But Patkar denied everything. She said she did not issue any press note or email it to anyone. She said she had no link with the Narmada.org website, where the press note was also posted, and that she didn’t know anything about NBA issuing that note. She also said that Narmada.org had no connection to her or the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
However, the court did not accept these arguments and convicted her. Still, it chose to be kind while giving the punishment because of her long history of social work.
PREVIOUSLY IN COURT
A Delhi court on April 2nd rejected the appeal filed by social worker Medha Patkar against her conviction and punishment in a defamation case.
The court confirmed the earlier order where Patkar was found guilty and sentenced to five months in jail along with a fine of Rs 10 lakh for making defamatory statements against Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
This case goes back to the year 2000, when Saxena was the president of an organisation called National Council of Civil Liberties. At that time, he had published an advertisement against Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) — the movement led by Patkar which opposed building dams on the Narmada river.
The ad was titled:
‘True face of Ms. Medha Patkar and her Narmada Bachao Andolan’.
In response, Patkar had issued a press note titled:
‘True Facts of a Patriot – Response to an Advertisement’.
In that press note, Patkar made serious claims against Saxena. She alleged that he had once visited Malegaon, supported the NBA, and even donated Rs 40,000 through a cheque to an organisation called Lok Samiti, which supported the Narmada movement. She also said that the cheque had bounced. The press note also contained the statement:
“The cheque, please note, came from Lalbhai Group. What is the connection between Lalbhai Group and VK Saxena? Who among them is more ‘Patriot’”
Because of this press note, Saxena filed a defamation case against Patkar in Ahmedabad in 2001. Later, in 2003, the case was transferred to Delhi on the directions of the Supreme Court.
After a long trial, in July 2024, the magistrate’s court found Patkar guilty and gave her the five-month sentence and the Rs 10 lakh fine. Patkar then went to the Sessions Court to appeal, but the court dismissed her appeal.
Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh of Saket Courts clearly stated that it was proven without any doubt that Patkar was involved in writing and spreading the press note to damage Saxena’s image. The court strongly remarked:
“The active involvement of Medha Patkar in authoring of the Press Note dated 24/11/2000 and its publication in document… is writ large on face of record. Conversely, the involvement of Medha Patkar is as hidden as an elephant behind an office table. It is only that Medha Patkar used smoke screen of virtual world of Internet to disseminate the Press Note in contention,”
The judge said Patkar was correctly convicted under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with defamation.
ALSO READ: BREAKING| Medha Patkar Convicted by Delhi Court in Defamation Case Filed by VK Saxena
He said:
“There is no substance in appeal so far as it impugns the judgment of conviction and it is dismissed,”
During the trial, Saxena denied all the allegations. He said he never went to Malegaon, never praised the NBA, and never gave any cheque to Lok Samiti. He also brought in witnesses who said they received the press note by email from Patkar.
On the other hand, Patkar said she had no part in issuing or sending the press note. She said she never emailed it to anyone, including Rediff.com, which had published it. She also said she had no link to the Narmada.org website, where the press note was available. She denied any connection with the website or with its activities.
However, the court said that even though there was no proof she sent the email herself, the press note was still clearly linked to her and her movement. The website Narmada.org was known to promote NBA’s causes and often posted press releases and organised public visits by Patkar.
So, the judge concluded that Patkar was actively involved in writing and spreading the press note using the internet as a cover. The court said:
“It is observed that rediff.com only published a press note that was already published by Medha Patkar through Narmada.org, with the only difference that rediff.com translated the press note of English language into news article of Gujarati language. Whether Press Note in contention was personally sent by Medha Patkar to rediff.com or it was sent by someone else on her behalf, was completely inconsequential,”
The court also said the content in the press note was not true.
ALSO READ: [Breaking] Activist Medha Patkar Gets 5 Months Jail in Defamation Case by LG VK Saxena
“The press note of English language into news article of Gujarati language. Whether Press Note in contention was personally sent by Medha Patkar to rediff.com or it was sent by someone else on her behalf, was completely inconsequential,”
The judge clearly said Saxena never visited Malegaon and never gave any cheque to Lok Samiti. The court noted:
“In fact, complainant (Saxena) actively supported Sardar Sarovar Dam Project and actively raised voice against NBA that was spear-headed by Medha Patkar. By creating the false impression that complainant VK Saxena gave cheque to NBA and by calling him coward and not a patriot, the press note sought to discredit the complainant and to malign his reputation in the eyes of public at large,”
Based on all this, the court decided to uphold Medha Patkar’s conviction and rejected her appeal.
CASE TITLE:
Medha Patkar v VK Saxena
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