NEW DELHI: A Delhi Court on Monday issued a notice to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, seeking his response to an appeal filed by activist Medha Patkar in an ongoing defamation case.
Additional Sessions Judge Vishal of Saket Court issued the notice, with Advocate Gajinder Kumar accepting it on behalf of Saxena. The case is now scheduled for further hearing on September 4. Meanwhile, the court has suspended the five-month sentence previously handed down to Patkar.
Patkar, who was sentenced on July 1 for defamation, has been granted bail upon furnishing a bail 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 two 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 (NBA), a movement led by Patkar opposing the construction of dams over the Narmada River. The court, in its sentencing order, highlighted the deliberate and calculated nature of Patkar's statements, indicating a clear intent to defame Saxena.