Social activist Medha Patkar withdrew her petition from the Delhi High Court on Friday, challenging a sessions court’s decision barring her conviction in a criminal defamation case filed in 2001. Patkar later withdrew from her petition hours after the Delhi Police arrested her on a non-bailable warrant (NBW) that the city court issued as Patkar did not follow the probation terms.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, when filing the case in 2001, was the president of the non-profit organisation, National Council of Civil Liberties (NCCL as per the case). The defamation charge arises from a press release by Patkar on November 24th 2000, in her capacity as a member of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). In the release, she said that Saxena had paid a cheque to the NBA, which bounced later. However, on January 18, 2001, Saxena wrote the defamation complaint against Patkar, alleging that the latter’s statement was baseless and malicious against him, an effort to harm the latter’s reputation.
Metropolitan magistrate Raghav Sharma on May 24, 2024, convicted Patkar, as she was convicted of being deliberate and malicious. The court held that her allegations were made to defame Saxena. Medha Patkar was sentenced to five months of imprisonment after being booked on July 1, 2024.
However, on April 2 2025, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh upheld the conviction. On April 8, Singh granted probation and asked Patkar to deposit ₹1 lakh as compensation and give a personal bond of ₹25,000 by April 23. The NBW was issued against her, and she was subsequently arrested as a consequence of her failure to meet these conditions.
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