Court adjourns hearing of Patkar’s plea in defamation suit

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday adjourned the hearing of an appeal by activist Medha Patkar against her five-month sentence in a defamation case filed by Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena.
The case is 23 years old from a time when Saxena headed an NGO in Gujarat. The court of additional sessions judge Vishal Singh adjourned the matter after noting that the submissions of Patkar's counsel were yet to be completed.
On Friday, advocate Sri Devi appeared for Patkar, while advocates Gajinder Kumar and Chandrashekhar appeared for Saxena.
Last month, lieutenant governor filed his reply to the appeal by Patkar against her sentence, saying that the appeal was legally not maintainable and liable to be dismissed as she had filed a "false" and "ante-dated" affidavit.
The court earlier suspended Patkar's sentence in the defamation case that was filed by Saxena 23 years ago and sought his reply. On July 1, a magisterial court sentenced Patkar to five months of simple imprisonment, besides imposing a fine of Rs 10 lakh.
On May 24, the court convicted Patkar, observing that her statements calling lieutenant governor Saxena a coward and alleging his involvement in hawala transactions were not only defamatory but also crafted to incite negative perceptions about him.
Patkar and Saxena have been locked in a legal tussle since 2000 after she filed a suit against him for publishing advertisements against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA).