On Monday, a Delhi court handed social activist Medha Patkar a five-month simple imprisonment sentence in connection with a 24-year-old defamation case filed against her by VK Saxena, now serving as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Additionally, the court directed Patkar to pay Rs 10 lakh as damages to Saxena.
In May of this year, Medha Patkar was found guilty in the case by Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma. The legal dispute between Patkar and Saxena dates back to 2000 when she initiated legal proceedings against him for publishing advertisements against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA).
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At the time, Saxena served as the chief of the Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties..In its verdict, the magistrate court had declared that Patkar’s statements against Saxena were “not only defamatory but also intended to provoke negative perceptions.”In its ruling on Monday, the court explained that Patkar was not given a rigorous imprisonment term due to considerations of her age, health, and the length of the punishment.
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Who is Medha patkar ?
Medha Patkar, born Medha Khanolkar on 1 December 1954 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the daughter of Vasant Khanolkar, a freedom fighter and labor union leader, and Indumati Khanolkar.
Medha Patkar dedicated five years to working with voluntary organizations in Mumbai’s slums and spent three years in the tribal districts of North-East Gujarat. She initially served as a faculty member at Tata Institute of Social Sciences but chose to leave her position to engage more directly in fieldwork. Initially pursuing a Ph.D. at TISS focusing on Economic Development and its effects on traditional societies, she completed her studies up to the M.Phil. level before shifting her focus entirely to her extensive work with tribal and peasant communities in the Narmada valley spanning across three states.
During the World Social Forum in Mumbai in January 2004, Medha Patkar and fellow members of the National Alliance of People’s Movements launched the ‘People’s Political Front’ or ‘Lok Rajniti Manch’. Although involved in creating a conducive environment, Patkar did not actively pursue a political career but instead focused on organizing a fifteen-day state-level campaign in Maharashtra. Accompanied by young activists Maju Varghese and journalist Jaspal Singh Naol (Jal), she led meetings across every district of Maharashtra.
In January 2014, Medha Patkar aligned with the Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal. Her organization, the National Alliance of People’s Movements, supported the Aam Aadmi Party during the Lok Sabha campaign. Patkar herself contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from the North East Mumbai constituency under the Aam Aadmi Party banner but finished third, securing 8.9% of the votes. She resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party’s primary membership on 28 March 2015.
On 16 November 2022, she participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in Washim, Maharashtra.
Who is Vk Saexena ?
Vinai Kumar Saxena, born on 23 March 1958, is an Indian former business executive and environmentalist. As of 2022, he serves as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Previously, Saxena held the position of chairman at the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), an organisation under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. He assumed the role in May 2015 and served until 2022.
Saxena’s career commenced at JK Group of Companies in Rajasthan, where he initially served as an assistant officer. Over the span of a decade, he contributed significantly to the establishment and operational growth of a white cement plant. Recognizing his leadership potential, he was promoted to the role of general manager within the group and subsequently took charge of a pivotal seaport project in Gujarat.
Later, Saxena assumed the role of CEO and Director for the ‘Dholera Port Project’ in Dholera, often referred to as “India’s Singapore”. In 1991, he founded the National Council for Civil Liberties of India (NCCL), an NGO headquartered in Ahmedabad, which holds official recognition from the Ministry of Law and Justice. Under his stewardship, NCCL initiated the “Mission ENDURE” (‘Ensuring Dust Reduction’) project in Ahmedabad in 2004. This initiative was later honored with the Dubai International Award by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
