New Delhi, July 29 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday maintained the conviction of activist Medha Patkar in a criminal defamation case filed against her by V.K. Saxena – now Lieutenant Governor of Delhi – back in 2001.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Shalinder Kaur rejected the revision plea filed by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar, challenging a Saket Court's order that had earlier dismissed her criminal appeal and upheld her conviction.
Justice Shalinder Kaur observed that Medha Patkar failed to point out any procedural defect that would amount to a miscarriage of justice in the case, noting that her conviction was based on due consideration of the evidence and applicable law.
However, in a bit of relief to Patkar, the Delhi High Court modified the probation condition requiring her to appear before the trial court every three months, permitting her to appear virtually or be represented by an advocate. Further, it refused to entertain Medha Patkar's plea challenging the dismissal of her application to introduce a new witness in her defamation case against Saxena.
In 2001, Saxena filed two defamation suits against Patkar— one over allegedly derogatory remarks made during a television interview, and the other concerning a press statement. The legal tussle arose from an earlier suit filed by Patkar in 2000, accusing Saxena of publishing defamatory advertisements targeting her and the NBA.
In July last year, Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma sentenced Patkar to five months in jail and ordered her to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to Saxena.
On appeal, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Vishal Singh of the Saket Court upheld Patkar’s conviction but ordered her to be released on probation of good conduct for a period of one year, subject to prior deposit of a compensation amount of Rs 1 lakh, which will be released in favour of the complainant (Saxena).
It had opined that an insensitive approach towards others’ reputation and abuse of the right to free speech must be met with criminal sanction, adding that Patkar, being herself a person of repute, must know the value of one’s reputation and how defamation can result in loss of face and public esteem of the victim.
Advocate Gajinder Kumar, along with advocates Kiran Jai, Chandra Shekhar, Drishti, and Somya Arya, represented L-G Saxena before the Delhi High Court.
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