In a significant development, the Delhi High Court has instructed the trial court to postpone the final hearing of the defamation case filed by social activist Medha Patkar against Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor, VK Saxena. The case, which has been ongoing since 2020, stems from Saxena’s controversial remarks about Patkar and the Narmada Bachao Andolan, a movement led by Patkar opposing dam constructions on the Narmada river.
The order came from Justice Shalinder Kaur, who directed the trial court to defer the matter until after the next High Court hearing scheduled for May 20. The case had been set for final arguments on April 19, but the High Court’s decision has now delayed these proceedings.
At the heart of the defamation suit are statements Saxena made in an advertisement about Patkar and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Patkar, in her petition to the High Court, challenged a lower court’s March decision that denied her request to examine an additional witness in the case. This witness, she argued, was crucial but had not been included in the original list of witnesses.
Patkar’s counsel, Advocate Abhimanue Shrestha, emphasized that the outcome of the petition would determine whether the trial court’s proceedings would be halted. Saxena’s legal team opposed this, arguing that the case had been in the witness examination phase for 14 years, suggesting that the chance to present witnesses had already passed.
In a related twist, Patkar had faced a five-month prison sentence and a fine of ₹10 lakh in July of the previous year after being convicted of defaming Saxena. The origins of the legal battle date back to 2000, when Saxena, in his capacity as president of the National Council of Civil Liberties, published an advertisement criticizing Patkar and her movement. The ad, titled “True Face of Ms. Medha Patkar and Her Narmada Bachao Andolan,” sparked a war of words, with Patkar issuing a counter-press release accusing Saxena of hypocrisy. This press notice led Saxena to file his own defamation lawsuit in 2001.
However, earlier this month, a court in Saket ruled that Patkar would not serve jail time. The court took into account her recognition as a prominent social activist with multiple awards, stating that the charges against her did not warrant imprisonment due to the nature of the offense.
