New Delhi. The court has convicted social activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed by Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena. Now the arguments on the punishment in this case will be held on May 30. Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena had filed this case against Medha Patkar in the year 2001, when he was the head of Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties.
Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma of Delhi’s Saket Court held Medha Patkar guilty of the offence of criminal defamation under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Under this, Medha Patkar can be sentenced to two years in jail or fine or both. Let us tell you that on 25 November 2000, Medha Patkar had said in a press note titled “The real face of a patriot” that V.K. Saxena is not a patriot but a coward. Apart from this, Patkar had made many serious allegations against Saxena, including his involvement in hawala transactions.
The Saket court judge said that Patkar deliberately tried to malign the name of V.K. Saxena in a malicious manner and this caused great damage to his reputation and credibility. The court said, calling the complainant a coward and not a patriot and accusing him of being involved in hawala transactions was defamatory. The judge said, the allegation leveled by Patkar against Saxena that he was mortgaging the resources of the people of Gujarat to foreign interests was a direct attack on his integrity and public service. The court said in its order, in the public sphere where patriotism is given utmost importance, such allegations are particularly serious. Questioning someone’s national loyalty can cause irreparable damage to his public image and social reputation.