Delhi court suspends Medha Patkar’s jail sentence in 2001 defamation case filed by VK Saxena
The court sought a reply from Saxena, the national capital’s lieutenant governor.
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A Delhi court on Monday suspended a five-month prison sentence given to activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case that is more than two decades old, The Indian Express reported.
The case was filed in 2001 by VK Saxena, who is now the lieutenant governor of Delhi. At the time, Saxena was heading the Ahmedabad-based non-governmental organisation National Council for Civil Liberties.
Saxena alleged that Patkar had defamed him in a press note titled “True face of patriot”, which the activist had issued on November 25, 2000.
The case was filed in an Ahmedabad court and transferred to the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court in Delhi in 2003. Patkar pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2013.
On May 24, Patkar was convicted in the case. She was found guilty of criminal defamation under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, as per which she was liable to serve two years jail time or pay a fine, or both.
While handing Patkar the jail term on July 1, Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Raghav Sharma ordered a one-month suspension of the sentence to allow her to file an appeal against the judgement.
On Monday, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh suspended her sentence after she challenged the order, reported The Indian Express. Singh also granted bail to Patkar and directed her to furnish bail bonds of Rs...
