New Delhi, 29 January: A Delhi court has acquitted Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena in a defamation case filed by Medha Patkar, the activist of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). The Saket Court’s Judicial Magistrate First Class, Raghav Sharma, ruled that Patkar failed to prove the allegations against Saxena beyond reasonable doubt.
The court held that there was no evidence on record to show that Saxena had personally published any advertisement defaming Medha Patkar. On careful reading, the advertisement’s criticism was directed at the NBA organisation and certain individuals, not specifically at Patkar.
This case, over 25 years old, dates back to when Saxena was active in Gujarat and had not yet assumed office as Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Following a Supreme Court order, the case was transferred from Ahmedabad to the Saket Court in Delhi.
In 2000, Patkar had filed the defamation suit against Saxena for publishing an advertisement against her and the NBA. At that time, Saxena was heading the Ahmedabad-based NGO, Council for Civil Liberties.
Later, Saxena also filed a defamation suit against Patkar, which resulted in Patkar being sentenced to five months of simple imprisonment and Saxena being ordered to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation. The sentence was subsequently suspended, and Patkar was granted bail. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction but set aside the sentence and clarified that no supervision order would be issued.
This verdict brings an end to the long-standing legal battle concerning defamation claims between the two prominent figures associated with the NBA movement.
