Defamation case: Delhi HC notifies L-G on Patkar's plea

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a notice to Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena in response to activist Medha Patkar’s plea seeking to examine a new witness in her long-standing defamation case against him.

Patkar, who leads the Narmada Bachao Andolan, had filed the case in 2000, alleging that Saxena defamed her through an advertisement when he headed a Gujarat-based NGO. The notice follows her appeal against a trial court's March 18 order, which dismissed her request to introduce an additional witness.

During the hearing, Patkar’s counsel requested a stay on the trial court proceedings, which are set to record Saxena’s statement. However, the high court did not issue any order and scheduled the next hearing for May 20.

The trial court had rejected Patkar’s plea, stating that judicial proceedings could not be delayed indefinitely. It noted that the case had already been ongoing for 24 years and that she had examined all witnesses listed when she originally filed the complaint. Allowing additional witnesses at this stage, it argued, would prolong the trial unnecessarily.

Saxena’s legal team opposed Patkar’s request, claiming it was a delay tactic. Meanwhile, their legal dispute dates back to 2000, with Saxena also filing two cases against Patkar in 2001 over alleged defamatory remarks on television and in a press statement. In one case, a Delhi court sentenced Patkar to five months in jail on July 1, 2024.