NEW DELHI: A city court on Monday issued a notice to L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena, seeking his response to an appeal filed by activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case. Additional Sessions Judge Vishal of Saket court also suspended the five-month sentence previously handed down to Patkar. The case is scheduled for further hearing on September 4.
Patkar, who was sentenced on July 1 for defamation, has been granted bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs 25,000 along with one surety of the same amount. She has contested the trial court’s order, which had also directed her to pay Rs 10 lakh in compensation to Saxena.
The case dates back over tw o decades to 2001 when Saxena, then president of the Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), filed a defamation suit against Patkar. This was in response to a press note released by Patkar that allegedly defamed Saxena.
Saxena’s defamation claim arose after he published an advertisement in 2000 criticising the Narmada Bachao Andolan, a movement led by Patkar opposing the construction of dams over the Narmada river.