Relief for Medha Patkar as Delhi's Saket court waives jail term, reduces fine

The Saket court directed Patkar’s release on probation for good conduct, noting her clean record and contribution to social causes.

Patkar appeared before the court via video conferencing.

While the court had earlier sentenced her to five months of simple imprisonment and imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine, it reconsidered the punishment on account of her age, clean past, and the non-grave nature of the offence.

Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh of the Saket court observed that Patkar is a well-known social activist who has received several awards and that the offence did not merit imprisonment.

"The court decides to release her for good conduct. She is being released on probation of one year," the judge said.

On April 2, the court had dismissed Patkar’s appeal challenging her conviction in the defamation case.

Last year, on July 1, Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma sentenced her to five months in jail and ordered her to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to Saxena. Advocate Gajinder Kumar, along with advocates Kiran Jai, Chandra Shekhar, Drishti, and Somya Arya, had argued the case for Saxena.

The defamation case dates back to 2001, when Saxena -- then chief of the Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties -- filed two defamation suits against Patkar. One pertained to allegedly derogatory remarks she made during a television interview, while the other involved a press statement.

The legal tussle arose from an earlier suit filed by Patkar in 2000, accusing Saxena of publishing defamatory advertisements targeting her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan.