New Delhi: A court here on Saturday acquitted social activist Medha Patkar in a criminal defamation case filed by Delhi L-G V K Saxena, saying the prosecution failed to prove that she made the alleged defamatory statements during a television programme in 2006.
The complaint was filed by Saxena, then president of the National Council for Civil Liberties, alleging that Patkar had defamed him during a TV programme.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Raghav Sharma, while hearing the case, said the complainant had failed to produce legally admissible evidence to establish that Patkar had made the impugned statements.
“The fact that the accused made the impugned statements — remains unproven…it is hereby held that the complainant has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt against the accused,” the order read.
LG Saxena –- then President of National Council of Civil Liberties (NCCL) and involved in supervising the Narmada flow in Gujarat and Rajasthan –- had filed a complaint in 2010that Patkar was called for an interview in 2006 on a show themed around the Narmada Bachao Andolan, where she made defamatory and unsubstantiated statements against him.
The allegations, he said, were about his organisation’s contract for the river project. On May 5, 2006, he issued a notice to her asking her to substantiate the allegations. Later, when he didn’t receive a response, he filed the complaint.
The court on Saturday said the original footage from the interview where she is making the alleged remarks has not been produced for examination, and without the original footage, the allegations against her remain unproved.
“Neither the reporter who actually recorded the audio-video, nor any person who had seen the accused making the impugned statements has been examined as a witness,” the court stated.
This is the second defamation complaint filed by Saxena against Patkar.
The first case stemmed from a press release issued by Patkar, who also led the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) that mobilised protests against the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The release, titled “True Face of Patriot”, claimed that Saxena had donated a cheque to NBA. This implies that he publicly opposed the movement but covertly aided it, the release mentioned.
Saxena filed a complaint in 2001, and a Delhi court in May 2024, found Patkar guilty, concluding that her statements were deliberate, malicious and aimed at tarnishing Saxena’s image.
She was sentenced to five months in prison and imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh by the court. A sessions court later set aside the jail term, releasing Patkar on probation.
