Delhi court suspends Medha Patkar’s prison sentence in 23-year-old defamation case by Delhi L-G V K Saxena

Less than a month later, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh suspended her sentence. ASJ Singh also granted bail to Patkar and directed her to furnish bail bonds of ₹25,000. Further, it also issued notice to Saxena and sought his reply on September 4.

In 2000, Saxena published an advertisement against Patkar’s Narmada Bachao Andolan, which opposed the construction of dams over the Narmada River. Following this, Patkar had allegedly issued a ‘press notice’ against Saxena. A defamation suit was filed against Patkar in an Ahmedabad court in 2001. Two years later, the case was transferred to Delhi on the Supreme Court’s directions.

While sentencing her, the court of JMFC Sharma said: “…her decision to label the complainant (Saxena) as a ‘coward’ and ‘not a patriot’ was a direct attack on his personal character and loyalty to the nation. Such allegations are particularly grave in the public sphere, where patriotism is highly valued, and questioning someone’s courage and national loyalty can cause irreversible damage to their public image and social standing.”

On the other hand, Patkar’s counsel earlier argued there was no proof that the press note was sent to Saxena by her. Her counsel also argued that the email through which Saxena stated he received the press note was not brought on record. Patkar also submitted that the document which is alleged to be a press note was an email, which could have easily been typed and sent to Saxena using the name of the accused.