Delhi Court Rejects Medha Patkar's Defamation Appeal
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Synopsis
A Delhi court has dismissed Medha Patkar's appeal against her conviction in a criminal defamation case initiated by V.K. Saxena. The court upheld the conviction and will hear sentencing submissions. Patkar was sentenced to five months in prison and ordered to pay Rs 10 lakh in compensation.
Key Takeaways
- Medha Patkar's appeal against defamation conviction dismissed.
- Conviction was upheld by Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh.
- Patkar sentenced to five months imprisonment and Rs 10 lakh compensation.
- Defamation case initiated by V.K. Saxena in 2001.
- New witness request denied by the court.
New Delhi, April 2 (NationPress) A court here on Wednesday rejected an appeal filed by activist Medha Patkar contesting her conviction in a criminal defamation case brought against her by V.K. Saxena, who is currently the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, dating back to 2001.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Vishal Singh of the Saket Court upheld the original conviction order.
The court is set to consider submissions, including those from Patkar’s legal team, regarding the sentencing during the post-lunch session.
On July 1 of the previous year, the Saket Court sentenced Medha Patkar, who leads the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), to five months of simple imprisonment in this criminal defamation case.
Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma of the Saket Court also mandated Patkar to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to Saxena for the damage inflicted on his reputation. Advocate Gajinder Kumar vigorously presented the case in court.
Kumar, along with advocates Kiran Jai, Chandra Shekhar, Drishti, and Somya Arya, represented L-G Saxena before the Saket court.
Patkar was adjudged guilty by the trial court of criminal defamation under Section 500 of the now-repealed Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Saxena initiated the case against Patkar in 2001 when he was the Chief of the National Council for Civil Liberties, an NGO based in Ahmedabad. This defamation case arose from a series of legal disputes beginning in 2000, when Patkar filed a suit against Saxena for disseminating what she claimed were defamatory advertisements against her and the NBA.
In retaliation, Saxena lodged two defamation suits against Patkar: one for alleged derogatory comments she made during a television appearance, and the other concerning a press statement issued by Patkar.
Recently, Judicial Magistrate First Class Raghav Sharma of the Saket Court denied Patkar's request to add a new witness in her counter-defamation case against Saxena.
"If this witness was genuinely pertinent, their name or role would have been referenced at some point during the past 24 years of proceedings. The complete lack of any mention of this witness implies it is an afterthought, perhaps introduced to artificially support the complainant's case," stated the court in its order dated March 18.
