Delhi HC refuses Medha Patkar extension of lower court order

New Delhi

The Delhi high court on Tuesday declined to postpone the execution of a sessions court order releasing activist Medha Patkar on probation in a 2001 criminal defamation case filed by Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena.

On April 8, sessions judge Vishal Singh had granted Patkar probation, directing her to deposit ₹1 lakh as compensation and furnish a personal bond of ₹25,000 by April 23. The court noted that Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), was a person of repute with no prior convictions. The order came after Patkar appealed a May 24 ruling by a metropolitan magistrate that denied her relief and sentenced her to five months in jail.

On Tuesday, Patkar’s counsel sought a two-week deferment of the execution, citing her absence from Delhi. The plea was heard by justice Shailender Kaur, who declined the request and advised the counsel to approach the trial court.

“Whatever is the order before the trial court, please follow the order. Please move the trial court (for postponing the execution),” justice Kaur told Patkar’s counsel.

The application was filed as part of Patkar’s appeal against an April 2 city court order upholding her conviction. On April 7, the high court scheduled May 19 as the next hearing in the matter.

The defamation case stems from a press release issued by Patkar on November 24, 2000, titled “True Face of Patriot.” In it, she alleged that Saxena, then president of the National Council of Civil Liberties (NCCL), had donated a cheque to the NBA that later bounced. Patkar implied Saxena, a vocal supporter of the Sardar Sarovar Project, was covertly aiding the movement he publicly opposed.

At the time, Saxena’s NGO was involved in exposing unfair trade practices and tax evasion in interstate commerce. Saxena filed the defamation complaint on January 18, 2001, alleging that Patkar’s claims were false and intended to damage his reputation.

On May 24, 2024, metropolitan magistrate Raghav Sharma found Patkar guilty, concluding that her statements were deliberate, malicious, and aimed at tarnishing Saxena’s image. On July 1, Sharma sentenced her to five months in prison and imposed a ₹10 lakh fine.

The sessions court later overruled the jail term, releasing Patkar on probation. However, the order was conditional on the timely deposit of compensation and execution of the bond, now due on April 23.