July 1st 2024.
Medha Patkar, a well-known activist, was recently sentenced to five months of simple imprisonment by a court in New Delhi. This sentence came as a result of a 23-year-old defamation case lodged against her by VK Saxena, who was the Delhi Lieutenant Governor at the time and also headed an NGO in Gujarat.
The Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma, who presided over the case, also ordered Patkar to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh. After carefully considering all the evidence presented and the fact that the case had been going on for over two decades, the court came to the decision to sentence Patkar.
However, the court also gave Patkar the opportunity to file an appeal against the order by suspending the sentence for one month. Patkar had requested to be released on probation, but the judge rejected this plea, stating that based on the damages, age, and ailment of the accused, he did not see fit to give her an excessive punishment.
The offence in question carried a maximum punishment of up to two years of simple imprisonment or a fine, or both. On May 24, the court had already made it clear that Patkar's statements against Saxena, in which she called him a "coward" and accused him of being involved in hawala transactions, were not only defamatory but also aimed at inciting negative perceptions about him.
The court also noted that Patkar's accusation of Saxena "mortgaging" the people of Gujarat and their resources to foreign interests was a direct attack on his integrity and public service. After completing the arguments on the sentencing, the judgment on the quantum of sentence was reserved on June 7.
The legal battle between Patkar and Saxena began in 2000 when she filed a suit against him for publishing advertisements against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Saxena, who was then heading an NGO called 'Council for Civil Liberties' in Ahmedabad, had also filed two cases against Patkar in 2001 for making derogatory remarks against him on a TV channel and issuing a defamatory press statement.
This long-standing feud has finally come to a conclusion with Patkar being sentenced to imprisonment and a hefty fine. It serves as a reminder that defamatory statements, especially those aimed at damaging someone's reputation and integrity, can have serious legal consequences.
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