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In a major relief for Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena, a Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed social activist Medha Patkar’s application to examine an additional witness in her defamation case against him. The court termed the plea as “a deliberate attempt to delay the trial.”
The litigation, dating back 24 years, pertains to allegations from when Saxena was active in Gujarat and leading the Ahmedabad-based NGO ‘Council for Civil Liberties’. Patkar had filed the case in 2000 over advertisements published against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. The matter was transferred to Delhi’s Saket Court in 2003 on Supreme Court orders.
Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma dismissed Patkar’s plea, questioning the credibility of introducing a new witness after 24 years. The court noted that all initially listed witnesses had been examined, and the absence of any prior mention of this witness raised doubts about the legitimacy of the request.
A “dangerous precedent”
The court observed that permitting such late-stage witness introduction without proper justification could set a “dangerous precedent” and prolong trials indefinitely. “The judicial process cannot be held hostage to such tactics, especially in a case that has already been pending for over two decades,” the order stated.
LG Saxena’s counsel highlighted that the trial had been delayed more than 94 times between June 2005 and February 2023 due to Patkar’s absence or adjournment requests. The counsel also pointed out that after summons were issued in 2005, Patkar sought over 46 adjournments before appearing in 2012. Additionally, she took 24 adjournments before completing her cross-examination.
In a related development, Saxena had also filed a defamation case against Patkar over a press note titled “True face of patriot” dated November 25, 2000. She was sentenced to five months of simple imprisonment last year, though the sentence was later suspended, and she was granted bail.
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