Delhi HC upholds Medha Patkar’s conviction in defamation case by L-G

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday upheld the conviction and punishment awarded to activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed by Delhi L-G V.K. Saxena in 2000, when he was heading an NGO in Gujarat.

Justice Shalinder Kaur said the trial court order challenged by Ms. Patkar in the High Court did not require any interference.

“This court finds no illegality, perversity, or material irregularity in the findings recorded by the learned trial/appellate court,” said Justice Kaur.

The court said that Ms. Patkar failed to demonstrate any defects in the procedure or any error in the law which resulted in the miscarriage of justice.

The judge also upheld the order on sentence, where Ms. Patkar, 70, was released on “probation of good conduct”, and said it did not require any interference.

Probation is a method of non-institutional treatment of offenders and a conditional suspension of sentence in which the offender, after conviction, is released on bond of good behaviour instead of being sent to prison.

As the president of the NGO – National Council of Civil Liberties – Mr. Saxena filed the case against Ms. Patkar for her defamatory press release against him issued on November 24, 2000.

On May 24, 2024, the magisterial court held that Ms. Patkar’s statements calling Mr. Saxena a “coward” and alleging his involvement in “hawala transactions” were not only defamatory per se but also “crafted to incite negative perceptions” about him.

Later on July 1, 2024, the court sentenced her to five months of simple imprisonment and slapped a Rs 10 lakh fine.

In April this year, an additional sessions judge had dismissed a challenge to the order and held Ms. Patkar was “rightly convicted” and there was “no substance” in the appeal against the verdict of her conviction in the defamation case. The sessions judge, however, modified the punishment and released Ms. Patkar on probation.