SC confirms Medha Patkar's conviction in defamation case by Delhi LG Saxena

The Supreme Court on Monday confirmed the conviction of activist Medha Patkar in a 25-year-old defamation case filed by Delhi LG V K Saxena. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said it was not inclined to interfere with the Delhi high court order on the matter that released Patkar on "probation of good conduct" but required her to appear before the trial court once every three years. It added

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"However, taking into consideration the submission of the counsel for the petitioner the penalty imposed stands set aside and we further clarify that the supervision order will not be given effect. "The high court on July 29 upheld the conviction and punishment awarded to 70-year-old Patkar. Saxena filed the case 25 years ago when he was heading an NGO in Gujarat. The high court had said there was illegality or material irregularity in the findings of the trial court and added that the order of conviction was passed after due consideration of evidence and the applicable law.