Delhi Court suspends Medha Patkar's sentence in defamation case filed by former LG V K Saxena

A Delhi court has suspended the sentence of social activist Medha Patkar in the criminal defamation case filed by former Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Delhi, V K Saxena. The court also granted Patkar bail, seeking Saxena's response by September 4.

The Saket court granted bail to Patkar on a bail bond of ₹25,000 with one surety of a similar amount. The court issued a notice to the Delhi L-G, seeking his reply on September 4.

Earlier this month, on July 1, the court had sentenced Patkar to a five-month jail term and directed her to pay ₹10 lakhs as compensation to Saxena for the harm to his reputation. The sentence was, however, suspended until August 1 to allow Patkar time to file an appeal.


The case stems from a press release shared by Patkar in November 2000. In this release, she called Saxena—then the president of a Gujarat-based NGO—a "coward" and accused him of involvement in hawala transactions. In May this year, the court observed that these statements were crafted to incite negative perceptions about Saxena.

Patkar and Saxena have been involved in legal disputes since 2000. Patkar had filed a suit against Saxena for publishing advertisements against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. In response, Saxena filed two defamation cases against Patkar in 2001 for making derogatory remarks against him on a TV channel and issuing a defamatory press statement.

During the latest court proceedings, Saxena's counsel argued for the maximum punishment for Patkar. Meanwhile, Patkar's counsel sought her release on probation, citing her age as a mitigating factor.

The court has now suspended the sentence and set a date for Saxena's response. This legal development continues the protracted conflict between the two parties, which has persisted for over two decades.