Activist Medha Patkar Arrested By Delhi Police in 24-Year-Old Defamation Case Filed By Delhi L-G VK Saxena

The Delhi Police on Friday arrested social activist Medha Patkar, two days after a court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against her for failing to furnish probation bonds in connection with a 24-year-old defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena.

In his order dated April 23, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Vishal Singh of the Saket Court stated, "On the next date, if the convict fails to comply with the terms of order on sentence dated 08/04/2025 (furnishing probation bonds in person), the court will be constrained to reconsider the benevolent sentence and will have to alter the order on sentence."

Photo Credit: PTI

A police team arrived at Patkar's residence in Nizamuddin on Friday morning and took her into custody, reported The Indian Express.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Ravi Kumar Singh confirmed the development, saying, "We have executed the NBW and Medha Patkar has been arrested."

Patkar is expected to be presented before the Saket Court later in the day. However, as ASJ Singh is currently on leave, she will appear before a link judge, according to sources.

On April 8, ASJ Singh had granted Patkar one year's probation, taking into account her contribution as leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), the accolades she had received, and the fact that the offence was not serious enough to merit imprisonment. She had been instructed to furnish probation bonds by April 23.

Previously, the court had dismissed Patkar's appeal against her conviction in the defamation case, which dates back to 2000. In the case, she had allegedly referred to Saxena - then heading a Gujarat-based NGO - as a "coward" and accused him of involvement in hawala dealings.

On May 24, 2024, a magistrate's court found Patkar's statements defamatory and sentenced her to five months in prison, with the sentence formally pronounced on July 1. However, ASJ Singh had suspended the sentence and granted her bail on July 29, last year.

The defamation charges stem from a press statement issued by Patkar on November 25, 2000. At the time, Saxena's NGO had publicly backed the Gujarat government's Sardar Sarovar Project, which the NBA was opposing.

In the statement, Patkar claimed that Saxena, then president of the NGO National Council of Civil Liberties, was secretly supporting the NBA. She further alleged that he had issued a cheque to the NBA, which subsequently bounced.