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Defamation case: Delhi court suspends Medha Patkar's sentence, grants bail
The Delhi's Saket court granted bail to Medha Patkar on a bail bond of ₹25,000 and one surety of a similar amount.
The Delhi Saket court on Monday suspended the sentence awarded to social activist Medha Patkar in the criminal defamation case filed by Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena.
The court also granted bail to Medha Patkar on a bail bond of ₹25,000 and one surety of a similar amount. The court has further issued a notice to the Delhi LG, seeking his reply to the matter on September 4.
This comes two days after Medha Patkar moved sessions court to challenge her sentence in the case.
On July 1, the Delhi court sentenced Medha Patkar to five months in jail and directed her to pay ₹10 lakh as compensation to VK Saxena. While pronouncing the order, the court said that considering Patkar's age, ailment, and duration, it was “not a severe punishment.”
However, the sentence was suspended till August 1 to allow Patkar time to file an appeal.
What is the case?
The defamation case dates back to January 2001, when Patkar issued a press release titled “True Face of Patriot” on November 25, 2000. In it, she called Saxena, who headed an Ahmedabad-based NGO at that time, a “coward” and accused him of being involved in hawala transactions.
Notably, Saxena's NGO was actively supporting the completion of the Sardar Sarovar Project at the time, while Patkar was spearheading massive protests against the dam’s construction.
Following this, Saxena filed two cases against Patkar for allegedly making derogatory remarks about him on a TV channel and issuing a defamatory press statement. According to Saxena's advocate, the imputations in Patkar’s press note portrayed him as a hypocrite and harmed his reputation.
In May 2024, the court convicted Patkar in the case, saying that her “actions were deliberate, malicious, and aimed at tarnishing Saxena's reputation”. It also observed that the statements made by the activist were defamatory and incited “negative perceptions”.
The court also noted that Patkar did not present any evidence to refute Saxena’s allegation.
