3 min readNew DelhiJan 30, 2026 06:25 AM IST
A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena in a 25-year-old criminal defamation case filed by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activist Medha Patkar on the ground that the complainant failed to prove her allegations.
Patkar and Saxena had been locked in a legal tussle since 2000 after she filed a suit against him for publishing an advertisement against her under the headline ‘The True Face of Medha Patkar and her Narmada Bachao Andolan’ (NBA) in The Indian Express. The advertisement was published on November 10, 2000, by National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL). Saxena was then the president of NCCL.
Patkar had alleged that specific and defamatory imputations were made against her, including that “NBA is passing confidential documents related to projects of national importance to the foreign people with the sole objective to halt the progress of nation”.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Raghav Sharma of Saket court said on Thursday, “The complainant has failed to establish that the accused published any imputation concerning the complainant personally in the said advertisement with an intent to harm or with the knowledge that it would harm her reputation.”
“The advertisement, when read as a whole, contains criticism directed against NBA as an organization and specific individuals named like Chitrupa Palit (NBA activist). The complainant’s name appear only in the heading and there is no reference to her in the body where substantive allegations are made,” he added.
“On plain reading, the accused has sought to criticise the functioning of the NBA by attributing certain acts to that organization – such as the alleged passing of confidential documents to foreign individuals, alleged non-registration of NBA to avoid disclosure of accounts and alleged receipt of funds through hawala channels. Each of these imputations is explicitly made qua the NBA,” JMFC Sharma said.
“…documents, by their very nature and authorship, show that the statements concern the internal working of NBA and its associates, not the complainant in her individual capacity,” he added.
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The court added that Patkar’s case suffers from “irreconcilable contradictions”. “She… admitted existence and authorship of Chitrupa Palit’s letter, justified the document as NBA’s on ‘risk analysis’ disclosure… However, in cross-examination, she pleaded complete ignorance,” the JMFC said in his order.
Saxena was represented in the court by advocates Gajinder Kumar, Kiran Jai, Chandra Shekhar, Drishti and Somya Arya.
On January 24, Patkar was acquitted in a criminal defamation case moved against her by Saxena in 2006 alleging that during a live television programme, she had made defamatory statements against him. These alleged statements pertained to Saxena getting contracts related to the Sardar Sarovar Project.
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Nirbhay Thakur
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More
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