A Delhi court has delivered a landmark judgment, exonerating Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena from a defamation charge brought by Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar. After 25 years of legal wrangling, Magistrate Raghav Sharma at Saket Court declared Saxena not guilty, citing failure to meet the prosecution’s evidentiary threshold.
The core issue revolved around an advertisement from 2000, when Saxena led the Council for Civil Liberties in Gujarat. Patkar alleged it defamed her personally, but the court disagreed. ‘No record shows the accused published any ad against Medha Patkar individually; the critique targeted the NBA and specific members,’ the order clarified.
This case’s journey—from Ahmedabad courts to Delhi’s Saket following SC intervention—mirrors the complexities of high-profile activism-related litigations. Saxena’s subsequent rise to Delhi LG added layers of public interest.
Patkar faced her own setback in a cross-defamation suit by Saxena, where she received a prison sentence and compensation order, upheld in conviction but suspended in penalty by the apex court.
The acquittal underscores judicial independence in parsing intent and evidence amid polarized narratives on the Narmada dam issue. It may embolden critics of the NBA while prompting reflection on defamation laws’ application to public discourse. With both parties having traded legal blows, this chapter closes on a note favoring Saxena, potentially influencing future activist-government skirmishes.