Activist Medha Patkar Arrested In 23-Year-Old Defamation Case By Delhi L-G VK Saxena

Activist Medha Patkar has been arrested after failing to comply with a court order in a 23-year-old defamation case filed by Delhi L-G VK Saxena.

Activist Medha Patkar has been arrested in a 23-year-old defamation case.

Source : PTI

The Delhi Police has arrested activist Medha Patkar. She was arrested in Nizamuddin, Delhi. A non-bailable warrant had been issued against Medha Patkar by the court on Thursday. She will be produced in Saket Court on Friday afternoon.

The development marks a serious turn in a legal battle that dates back to 2000, when Saxena, then heading a Gujarat-based NGO, filed the case against Patkar over a press release in which she allegedly called him a "coward" and accused him of being involved in hawala transactions. This was during the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement).

On April 8, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh found the 70-year-old Patkar guilty of defamation, ordering her release on probation contingent upon a ₹10 lakh fine and the submission of probation bonds.

But when the matter came up again on Wednesday, Patkar was absent from court and it was found that she had not fulfilled the earlier directives. Representing Saxena, advocate Gajinder Kumar informed the court of her failure to appear or comply. In response, the judge issued the non-bailable warrant through the Commissioner of Delhi Police.

The court also took a dim view of Patkar's attempt to seek an adjournment, finding it "mischievous and frivolous". It issued a stern warning: if the conditions are not met by the next hearing scheduled for May 3, the court may revisit its earlier leniency in sentencing.

This is not the first ruling against Patkar. On May 24 last year, a magisterial court found that her statements were not only defamatory but appeared to be deliberate attempts to tarnish Saxena's public image. The court observed that her accusations, such as claiming Saxena was "mortgaging" the people and resources of Gujarat to foreign interests, struck at the heart of his reputation and integrity.

Following that judgment, sentencing arguments concluded on May 30, and by July 1, Patkar was handed a five-month simple imprisonment term. She subsequently filed an appeal, bringing the matter before the sessions court.