Move sessions court to appear virtually in defamation case: Delhi HC to Medha Patkar

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday asked activist Medha Patkar to move the sessions court to seek permission for appearing virtually in relation to her sentencing in a defamation case of Delhi LG V K Saxena.

Saxena had filed the case 23 years ago when he was heading an NGO in Gujarat.

Justice Shalinder Kaur said the plea was premature and Patkar could file an application in the sessions court to appear virtually.

"The counsel is at liberty to move appropriate application before the sessions court which shall be considered", said the court, as it posted Patkar's plea against the conviction on May 19.

The 70-year-old Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader was challenging the April 2 decision of the sessions court, which upheld her conviction in the case given by a magisterial court.

Patkar also moved against the direction to her to appear in person on April 8 for arguments and the order on sentence.

The magisterial court on July 1, 2024, sentenced her to five months of simple imprisonment and slapped a Rs 10 lakh fine after finding her guilty under IPC Section 500 (defamation).

Patkar's counsel argued in the high court that after dismissing her appeal against the magisterial court's decision, the sessions court had no authority to pass an order on the sentence in the case and seek her physical presence.

Saxena filed the case against Patkar when he was the president of National Council of Civil Liberties for a "defamatory press release" issued on November 24, 2000, against him.

On May 24, last year, the magisterial court held that Patkar's statements calling Saxena a "coward" and alleging his involvement in hawala transactions were not only defamatory per se but also "crafted to incite negative perceptions" about him.

The accusation that the complainant was "mortgaging" the people of Gujarat and their resources to foreign interests was a direct attack on his integrity and public service, it had said.

On April 2, additional sessions judge Vishal Singh upheld Patkar's conviction in the defamation case.