Activist Medha Patkar arrested in 24-year-old case by Delhi L-G
What's the story
Social activist Medha Patkar was arrested by the Delhi Police on Friday in a 24-year-old defamation case filed against her by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. The action came after a Saket court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against her on Wednesday, accusing Patkar of "deliberately" violating its order to furnish probation bonds and pay a ₹1 lakh fine.
Court remarks
Court criticizes Patkar's request for adjournment
The court rejected Patkar's adjournment plea, calling it "frivolous and mischievous." It accused her of trying to "hoodwink" the court and said it would "reconsider the benevolent sentence." Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh said instead of obeying the April 8 order, Patkar did not appear before the court and willfully disobeyed its order on sentencing. The court said that Patkar was willfully disregarding its order, purposefully not appearing before it, and shunning accepting the terms of her sentence.
Coercive order
Court issues coercive order for Patkar's production
There was no suspension of her sentence on April 8, it said, and it had no option but to issue "her production through a coercive order." The judge also rejected Patkar's request for adjournment, citing a pending revision petition before the Delhi HC. He said there was "no direction in the order dated April 22 of the Delhi High Court that convict Medha Patkar is not required to comply with the order on sentence dated April 8."
Case details
Background of the defamation case
Saxena, then president of the National Council of Civil Liberties, filed the defamation case against Patkar for her press release dated November 24, 2000. Last year, a magisterial court observed that Patkar's statements branding Saxena a "coward" and accusing him of hawala transactions were defamatory and designed to incite negative perceptions about him. Her allegations against Saxena were a direct attack on his integrity and public service, the court observed.
Timeline
sessions court found her guilty
The order regarding the sentence's quantum was reserved on June 7 after the sentencing arguments were concluded on May 30. The court condemned her to five months' simple jail on July 1. Patkar then appealed in a sessions court. On April 8, the sessions court found her guilty in the defamation case but released her on "probation of good conduct" and imposed a condition that she deposit ₹1 lakh as a fine.