Activist Medha Patkar sentenced to five months imprisonment

A Delhi court sentenced Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar to five months of simple imprisonment and ordered her to pay Rs 10 lakh in a defamation case filed by V K Saxena, now Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor. Patkar had called Saxena a “coward” and accused him of involvement in hawala transactions, which the court found defamatory. The legal battle began in 2000. Patkar plans to appeal the verdict, asserting her commitment to truth and activism.