SC allows Medha Patkar to withdraw plea in defamation case vs LG Saxena
A bench led by justices Sundresh and Sharma asked Patkar and Saxena to “move on” as it declined to interfere in the defamation case, allowing Patkar to withdraw her appeal.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea by social activist Medha Patkar seeking permission to examine an additional witness in a 25-year-old defamation case against Delhi lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. The court allowed her to withdraw the appeal.
Patkar had approached the top court against the Delhi High Court’s July 29 order, which upheld a trial court decision rejecting her request to examine another witness in the case.
Indicating its reluctance to interfere, a bench of justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma urged both sides to consider drawing the case to a close.
“Move on. Why do you want to carry this case? We have already closed this case on merits. But with due respect to both of you, why don’t you put an end to this,” said a bench of justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma.
Senior advocate S Nagamuthu, appearing for Patkar along with advocate Abhimanue Shreshta, said that in the event the defamation case filed by the petitioner ends in acquittal, there is no guarantee that Saxena will not initiate a case of defamation against her.
“Suppose the case ends in acquittal, would he (Saxena) leave me after that. They will take action against me,” Nagamuthu said.
Initially, the court passed the order recording an assurance on behalf of Saxena that he will not initiate any further case. However, senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the LG, said: “I owe a constitutional duty to my client. All my legal remedies should be kept open. On going through the trial court records, it can be seen that seven times the court has imposed cost on her for not proceeding with the evidence in the case.”
Nagamuthu said, “I wish to withdraw this appeal. My predicament is tomorrow I should not be blamed. Let them argue it. We will also argue.” The court allowed Patkar to withdraw her appeal,
It was by an order of March 18, the court of judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) refused to entertain Patkar’s request to examine an additional witness in a defamation case filed by her in December 2000 against Saxena and others over a newspaper advertisement which she alleged to be defamatory.
To be sure, last month, the top court upheld Patkar’s conviction in a 2001 defamation case. This case was filed by Saxena at the time when he was heading the non-profit National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) that supported the Sardar Sarovar Dam Project in Gujarat. Saxena based his case on a press release issued by Patkar, who led the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) that mobilised protests against the construction of the dam.
The release titled “True Face of Patriot” on November 24, 2000 alleged that Saxena had donated a cheque to NBA, which later bounced, to imply that Saxena covertly aided the movement which he had publicly opposed. The Delhi high court had on July 29 upheld the trial court’s order convicting and sentencing Patkar, concluding that her statements were defamatory and tarnished Saxena’s image.
The top court on August 11 upheld the conviction while setting aside the penalty of ₹1 lakh imposed on her along with other directions requiring her to appear before the trial court every three months.
