Delhi court imposes fine on Medha Patkar for not appearing before it

Activist Medha Patkar has been slapped with a fine by a Delhi court after she failed to appear before it in connection with two defamation cases.

Metropolitan magistrate Munish Markan imposed a fine of Rs1,000 in each of the two cases after rejecting a plea of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader seeking exemption from personal appearance before the court.

The court was hearing two separate defamation cases filed by Patkar and VK Saxena, president of Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council For Civil Liberties, against each other.

Patkar's counsel took the plea that she had to appear in a judicial commission of inquiry in Indore.

The plea, however, was vehemently opposed by Saxena saying the application was not supported by relevant documents.

The counsel for Saxena said "the presence of Saxena is more than 96% while Patkar's appearance is just 18 per cent."

The court has now fixed the hearing on March 10.

The NBA activist had filed a criminal defamation case in Delhi against Saxena in 2000 for allegedly publishing advertisements against her and the activities of NBA.

Saxena had also filed a defamation case against Patkar at Ahmedabad which was later transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court after the NBA leader said that she feared for her life in Gujarat.