Court Suspends Medha Patkar Sentence, Issues Notice to Delhi LG Saxena in Defamation Case
Court Suspends Medha Patkar Sentence, Issues Notice to Delhi LG Saxena in Defamation Case
Former Judge of the Supreme Court Justice Madan B. Lokur criticized the arbitrary court order against award-winning activist Medha Patkar.
By RMN News Service
A Delhi court today (July 29) suspended the jail sentence of social activist Medha Patkar in the defamation case filed against her by Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) V. K. Saxena.
According to reports, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal of Saket Court also issued notice to Saxena to submit his response to the appeal filed by Medha Patkar. The case is scheduled for further hearing on September 4.
Meanwhile, the court has suspended the five-month jail sentence and compensation of Rs. 10 lakh that Medha Patkar was ordered by the lower court on July 1 to pay to Saxena.
In the defamation suit filed in 2001, Saxena had alleged that Medha Patkar used derogatory language against him when he was the President of the Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL).
Earlier in 2000, it is stated that Saxena had issued an advertisement to criticize the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), a movement led by Medha Patkar against the construction of dams over the Narmada River.
In the V. K. Saxena Vs. Medha Patkar case, Metropolitan Magistrate of Saket Court Raghav Sharma had pronounced a harsh punishment for Medha Patkar without fully understanding the defamation issues.
In a July 2024 article written in The Tribune newspaper, former Judge of the Supreme Court Justice Madan B. Lokur criticized Raghav Sharma’s arbitrary order against award-winning activist Medha Patkar.
Lokur also defended another activist and writer Arundhati Roy who is being prosecuted under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for her speech that she delivered 14 years ago.
