Supreme Court upholds Medha Patkar’s conviction in 2001 defamation case, grants partial relief
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the conviction of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar in a 2001 criminal defamation case filed by V.K. Saxena, now the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, but granted her partial relief by setting aside the penalty and ruling that the supervision order would not be enforced.
A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh was hearing Patkar’s special leave petition challenging a Delhi High Court order that had affirmed her conviction. The case stems from two defamation suits filed by Saxena, one over remarks made during a television interview and another concerning a press statement.
The defamation row traces back to 2000, when Patkar accused Saxena of publishing advertisements defaming her and the NBA. In July 2023, Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma sentenced Patkar to five months’ imprisonment and ordered her to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation.
On appeal, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh of the Saket Court upheld her conviction but released her on probation of good conduct for one year, subject to the deposit of Rs 1 lakh as compensation for Saxena. The court observed that defamation by a person of repute must attract criminal sanction, stressing the importance of protecting an individual’s reputation.
Last month, the Delhi High Court dismissed Patkar’s revision plea, with Justice Shalinder Kaur finding no procedural lapses or miscarriage of justice. While maintaining the conviction, the court allowed her to appear virtually or be represented by an advocate instead of appearing physically before the trial court every three months.
