New Delhi: A court has acquitted social activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed by Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena when he headed an NGO in Gujarat in 2006. “Even if the footage had been admissible, they would still not prove that the impugned statements were made by the accused,” the court said. Dismissing the charge punishable under Section 500 of IPC, judicial magistrate Raghav Sharma ruled that the complainant failed to establish that Patkar had made or published the alleged statements.The court observed that “without such original footage or the device recording the same being brought on record, the fact that the accused made the impugned statements remains unproved”. It also noted that none of the reporters who “originally recorded the impugned” audio-video was examined as a witness.The complaint was filed by Saxena, alleging that on April 20, 2006, during a live TV programme, ‘Breaking News’, on India TV, Patkar had made defamatory statements against him.In Aug 2025, in a separate defamation case by Saxena, Supreme Court had confirmed the conviction of the Narmada Banchao Andolan activist. Saxena’s counsel in the current case, Gajinder Kumar, submitted that anchor Rajat Sharma had played a video clip containing the remarks. Saxena had denied the allegations on air, asserting that he never received any civil or other contract from Sardar Sarovar Project as claimed by Patkar and later sent her a legal notice seeking the CD mentioned in the clip. He had filed the complaint after receiving no response from her.The court noted that the “central dispute” between the parties revolved around whether the accused was actually a panellist on the programme or whether only her pre-recorded audio-video footage was played. The court flagged “continuous changes” in Saxena’s testimony, noting that he later claimed both were panellists, rendering the prosecution’s version doubtful.This doubt was reinforced by Nirmay Kapoor, senior associate editor at India TV, who deposed that only Patkar’s audio-video footage was played, lasting “14 seconds and 38 to 40 seconds”. He added that the original mini DVD was never in his possession.The court held that since Kapoor had neither possessed the original device nor controlled the archive, the clip was inadmissible under Section 65B of Indian Evidence Act. “Even if the footage were admissible, it would still not establish” zthe allegation as the complete recording was absent, it pointed out.
