NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has firmly responded to the appeal filed by Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar, challenging her five-month sentence in a defamation case.
Saxena’s reply, submitted on Wednesday, argued that Patkar’s appeal is legally untenable and should be dismissed. On July 29, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh of the Saket Court had temporarily suspended Patkar’s sentence while seeking a reply from Saxena.
The controversy stems from a July 1 ruling by a magisterial court, which sentenced Patkar to five months of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh.
This sentence was in response to defamatory statements made by Patkar, where she allegedly referred to Saxena as a “coward” and implicated him in hawala transactions.
In his reply, Saxena’s legal counsel, advocates Gajinder Kumar and Kiran Jai, raised objections to Patkar’s appeal, citing several procedural flaws. They argued that the appeal, dated July 24, lacked Patkar’s signature and was only signed by her counsel. They also accused Patkar of submitting a “false affidavit” with an ante-dated signature, raising doubts about the authenticity of the appeal.
“It is pertinent to mention that the appellant by filing an application U/s 430 BNSS, 2023 seeking suspension of sentence and grant of bail, which was supported with a false affidavit has undermined the authority of this Hon’ble Court and managed to obtain a favorable order,” read the LG’s reply.
Saxena’s response further alleged that Patkar had a history of misleading the courts and shifting blame to her legal representatives when errors were uncovered. The court, acknowledging these concerns, has instructed Patkar’s counsel to submit a signed copy of the appeal via email.
The case, which has been a long-standing legal battle between Patkar and Saxena since 2000, is set to continue on October 18, when further proceedings will take place. The court has left open the possibility of addressing the “legal issues” raised by Saxena’s counsel, signalling that this legal tussle is far from over.
Their legal tussle is at least 24 years old when Patkar first filed a case against Saxena in 2000 and the latter soon followed a counter case against her in 2001.
What’s the case?
Delhi L-G VK Saxena had filed a defamation suit against Medha Patkar in 2001 after Narmada Bachao Andolan leader called him a “coward” and implicated him in hawala transactions on a TV channel. Saxena was then heading an Ahmedabad-based NGO, called Council for Civil Liberties