A Delhi Court on Friday convicted activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed by Delhi LG VK Saxena. Saxena had filed the defamation case against the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader for making derogatory remarks against him on a TV channel and issuing a defamatory press statement against him.
Medha Patkar and Vinai Kumar Saxena are involved in a legal battel since 2000, after Patkar filed a case against him for publishing ads against her and Narmada Bachao Andolan. At that time, Saxena was the chief of Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties. At the same time, Saxena filed two defamation lawsuits against her over her comments against him.
The defamation suit was filed in response to Medha Patkar’s statements in April 2006. In a panel discussion on a news channel, Patkar had alleged that Saxena received civil contracts from Gujarat-based Sardar Sarovar Nigam, which manages the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The allegation was denied by Saxena.
After her comments, Sardar Sarovar Nigam Ltd wrote to Gujarat Police denying her charges. They stated that Saxena never applied to the Nigam for the award of any civil contract and/or for any supply contract in the past, nor the Nigam ever gave any civil or any other contract to him or to his NGO.
After years of hearing, Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma found Medha Patkar guilty of criminal defamation.
In July 2018, the Delhi court had framed defamation charges against Patkar in the case filed by VK Saxena, who was the Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC) Chairman at that time. While framing the charges, the court had said, “Prima facie case is made out against the accused for the offences.”
Earlier in 2017, the court had slapped a fine of ₹10,000 for not appearing in the court hearings. The court had warned that her complaint against Saxena would be dismissed if she fails to appear in the court. The imposed the fine after her lawyers told the court that she couldn’t appear in the court because she was on a hunger strike in Madhya Pradesh.