A Saket court in Delhi has acquitted incumbent Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena in a defamation case filed by social activist Medha Patkar more than two decades ago. The court ruled that the allegations against Saxena were not proved beyond a reasonable doubt and gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Raghav Sharma pronounced the verdict and said that the case did not establish defamation. While delivering the judgment, the court stated, “The allegations are not proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” Addressing the LG, who appeared through video conferencing, the court said, “You are acquitted.”

The case was filed by Medha Patkar against V K Saxena in his capacity as the President of the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL). The dispute originated from an advertisement published in an English newspaper on November 10, 2000. The advertisement was issued by NCCL, which was headed by Saxena at that time.

According to the complaint, the advertisement was false and defamatory. It reproduced two documents related to the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). One of these documents was a letter written by an NBA employee, Chittaroopa Palit, which enclosed a “confidential risk analysis” concerning certain foreign nationals. The second document was a receipt along with a letter from Lok Samiti, a supporter of NBA, showing that Lok Samiti had received donations indirectly for NBA through other supporters.

During the proceedings, it was argued on behalf of LG Saxena that the publication was not defamatory in nature. The defence submitted that a simple reading of the advertisement clearly showed that it was issued in public interest by NCCL. It was also stated that NCCL had been working on issues of social and national importance and had been actively supporting the country’s development. The organisation was also associated with promoting the Sardar Sarovar Project and other hydro projects of national importance.

The defence further argued that the advertisement was published after due care and caution. It was stated that NCCL had obtained and reproduced copies of the letter written by Chittaroopa Palit and the receipt and letter issued by Lok Samiti in good faith. According to the defence, the purpose of publishing these documents was to caution the public and raise questions in the public interest regarding the activities of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the complainant, who were allegedly hindering development work.

It was also argued that the documents reproduced in the advertisement were authored by NBA supporters and were related to the organisation founded by the complainant. Therefore, the defence claimed that the contents of the advertisement were true and remained unrebutted on record. On this basis, it was submitted that the advertisement was neither false nor defamatory, but rather based on admitted facts.

The defence also clarified that the advertisement did not allege that the NBA was passing “State Secrets” involving national security to foreign forces. It was argued that any such interpretation was a misconception and had been highlighted by the complainant herself, as no such meaning was intended in the advertisement.

The court accepted the arguments presented on behalf of LG Saxena and concluded that the allegations were not established beyond a reasonable doubt. As a result, Saxena was acquitted in the case.

Notably, the court had recently also acquitted Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed against her by V K Saxena.

Advocate Gajinder Kumar, Kiran, Chandra Shekhar, Drishti and Somya appeared for V K Saxena in the case.