A Delhi court on Monday sentenced social activist Medha Patkar to five months simple imprisonment in a 23-year-old defamation case filed against her by Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena when she was the head of an NGO in Gujarat. Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Patkar. The court awarded the sentence to Patkar after considering the evidence before it and the fact that the case had gone on for over two decades. The court, however, suspended the sentence for a month to give Patkar an opportunity to file an appeal against the order.
What did the court say?
Rejecting Patkar’s plea for release on probation, the judge said, "Considering the facts… the damage, age and illness (of the accused), I am not in favour of awarding a higher sentence." The punishment for this offence is simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or fine or both.
On May 24, the court had said that Saxena "Patkar’s statement calling him a coward and not a patriot and alleging his involvement in hawala transactions not only amounted to defamation in itself but was also fabricated to incite negative perception, the court had said. "The allegation that the complainant is mortgaging the people of Gujarat and its resources to foreign interests is a direct attack on his integrity and public service." The court debate on the sentence was completed on May 30, after which the verdict was reserved on June 7.
What was the matter?
Patkar and Saxena have been locked in a legal battle since 2000, when Patkar filed a suit against Saxena for publishing advertisements against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). Patkar had claimed that the ads were derogatory to her and the NBA. In response, Saxena filed two defamation cases against Patkar. The first was for alleged derogatory comments made about him during a television programme and the second was related to a press statement issued by Patkar. Saxena was then the president of the Council for Civil Liberties, an Ahmedabad-based NGO. While passing the order for Patkar’s sentencing, the judge said reputation was one of the most valuable assets of any individual. (With inputs from Bhasha)
