Medha Patkar arrested in defamation case filed by Delhi L-G Saxena

Social activist Medha Patkar was arrested by the Delhi Police on Friday after a court in the national capital issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against her in a defamation case filed by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.

A Saket court had issued the NBW against Medha Patkar on Wednesday, accusing her of "deliberately" flouting its order to submit probation bonds and pay a ₹1 lakh fine in the defamation case. The court described her plea for adjournment as “frivolous and mischievous” and said it was filed with the intention to “hoodwink” the court, warning that it could "reconsider the benevolent sentence."

Additional sessions Judge Vishal Singh said, "Instead of appearing before the court to comply with the order on sentence dated April 8, the convict (Patkar) is absent and has deliberately failed to comply with the order on sentence and to avail of the benefit of probation subject to furnishing of the compensation amount."

The court noted, "The intention of the convict is apparent that she is deliberately violating the court order; she is avoiding appearing before the court and also avoiding accepting the terms of the sentence passed against her. There is no order of suspension of sentence passed by this court on April 8."

Given the situation, the court stated it had no other option but to issue "her production through a coercive order."

"Issue non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against convict Medha Patkar, through the office of the Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police, for the next date. Put up for report on NBWs and further proceedings on May 3," the court directed.

The judge also mentioned that Patkar's adjournment request, citing a pending revision petition in the Delhi high court, had "no substance" and that "there is no direction in the order dated April 22 of the Delhi High Court that the convict Medha Patkar is not required to comply with the order on sentence dated April 8. The present application is frivolous, mischievous and is only calculated to hoodwink the court," and dismissed it.

Patkar was relieved on April 8, avoiding a five-month prison sentence, when the court released her on "probation of good conduct" in the defamation case.

Saxena filed case in 2000

Saxena filed the case in his capacity as president of the National Council of Civil Liberties against Patkar for her defamatory press release issued on November 24, 2000.

A magisterial court observed on May 24 last year that Patkar’s statements, calling Saxena a "coward" and accusing him of involvement in hawala transactions, were not only defamatory but also intended to provoke negative perceptions about him.

The court noted that the allegation that Saxena was "mortgaging" the people of Gujarat and their resources to foreign interests was a direct attack on his integrity and public service.

The sentencing arguments were completed on May 30, and the order on the quantum of the sentence was reserved on June 7.

On July 1, the court sentenced her to five months' simple imprisonment, after which Patkar appealed in a sessions court.

The sessions court found the 70-year-old guilty in the defamation case, but on April 8, it released her on "probation of good conduct" and imposed a condition requiring her to deposit ₹1 lakh as a fine.

Probation is a non-institutional method of treating offenders and a conditional suspension of sentence, where the convicted person is released on a bond of good behaviour instead of being sent to prison.

(With PTI inputs)