A city court on Tuesday released on probation activist Medha Patkar in connection with a 2001 criminal defamation case filed by Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena, observing that the Narmada Bachao Andolan leader was a person of repute with no history of conviction.
“While the convict made false and malicious allegations through a press conference, intending to harm complainant VK Saxena’s reputation, she is a lady with no prior conviction and social standing and has been awarded several national awards…she deserves the benefit of being released on probation under provisions of the CrPC,” additional sessions judge Vishal Singh of Saket court observed while hearing submissions on the quantum of sentence to be handed out to Patkar.
The court also observed that the maximum prison sentence for the offence was less than seven years. Under Section 360 of CrPC, for offences punishable under seven years or less, or for offences not punishable by death or life imprisonment when committed by a person under the age or 21 years or a woman, a court can release the offender on probation on good conduct instead of immediate punishment, provided there is no previous conviction.
The case stems from a press release issued by Patkar on November 24, 2000, in which she alleged that Saxena, who was the president of non-profit organisation National Council of Civil Liberties at the time, had given a cheque to NBA, which subsequently bounced. Saxena, who was actively involved in ensuring the timely completion of the Sardar Sarovar Project, filed the defamation case on January 18, 2001, alleging that Patkar’s press release contained false accusations intended to harm his reputation.
On May 24, 2024, metropolitan magistrate Raghav Sharma convicted Patkar concluding that her actions were deliberate, malicious and aimed at tarnishing Saxena’s reputation. On July 1, 2024, judge Sharma sentenced Patkar to undergo five months imprisonment along with ₹10 lakh as fine.
On April 2, sessions judge Vishal Singh upheld the 2024 order. Judge Singh had, however, deferred passing an order on sentence due to absence of Patkar’s physical presence and had directed her to appear before him on Tuesday for submission and order on sentence.
On Tuesday, Patkar appeared before the court through video conference after her counsels moved an application seeking her exemption from personal appearance on account of her being out of the city due to prior engagements.
To be sure, the Delhi high court on Monday dismissed a plea moved by Patkar seeking exemption from personal appearance in the matter and gave her the liberty to approach the concerned trial court for the relief.
Sessions judge Singh, refusing to give a prison sentence to Patkar, said, “The convict, herself being a person of repute, must know the value of reputation and how defamation can lead to loss of face, however, punishment must be proportionate with the gravity of the offence…the maximum sentence for the offence is less than seven years and the convict has the benefit of being released on probation”.
The court further reduced the compensation that Patkar had to pay to Saxena for the loss of his reputation from ₹10 lakhs to ₹1 lakh. The court set the next date of hearing on April 24, for payment of compensation and a surety of ₹25,000.
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