SC Confirms Conviction Of Activist Medha Patkar In Defamation Case By Delhi LG Saxena

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday confirmed the conviction of activist Medha Patkar in a 25-year-old defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena.

The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh.

The bench said it is not keen to interfere with the order passed by the Delhi High Court on the matter that released Patkar on "probation of good conduct" but required her to appear before the trial court once every three years.

"However, taking into consideration the submission of the counsel for the petitioner the penalty-imposed stands set aside and we further clarify that the supervision order will not be given effect”, said the bench.

On July 29, the high court upheld the conviction and punishment awarded to 70-year-old Patkar. The high court had said that the order of conviction was passed after due consideration of evidence and the applicable law, and Patkar failed to demonstrate any defects in the procedure which was followed or any error in the law which resulted in the miscarriage of justice.

The high court also upheld the order on sentence, where Patkar was released on "probation of good conduct", and said it did not require any interference.

Probation is a method of non-institutional treatment of offenders and a conditional suspension of sentence in which the offender, after conviction, is released on bond of good behaviour instead of being sent to prison.

The high court had modified the condition of probation imposed by the trial court, requiring Patkar to appear before the trial court once in every three months, and allowed her to either appear physically or through videoconferencing or be represented through the lawyer during the appearances.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan leader challenged the April 2 sessions court order upholding her conviction handed out by a magisterial court in the case.

The sessions court, which upheld Patkar's conviction in the case, released her on "probation of good conduct" on furnishing a probation bond of Rs 25,000 on April 8.

The magisterial court on July 1, 2024 sentenced Patkar to five months of simple imprisonment and slapped a Rs 10 lakh fine after finding her guilty under Section 500 (defamation) of the IPC.

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Delhi HC Upholds Medha Patkar's Conviction In Defamation Case By LG Saxena