Defamation case: Court slaps Rs 10K fine on Medha Patkar, warns her

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday imposed Rs 10,000 as costs on NBA activist Medha Patkar for her repeated failure to appear before it in defamation cases filed by her and KVIC Chairman V K Saxena against each other.

Metropolitan Magistrate Vikrant Vaid granted one last opportunity to the activist while warning that he will dismiss her complaint against Saxena if she again fails to appear.

The court had on June 26 warned Patkar to be "careful in future" and had cancelled the non-bailable warrant issued against her on May 29 for her non-appearance.

The court had in January 2015 also imposed costs of Rs 3,000 on Patkar for non-appearance before it, giving her the "last and final opportunity" to appear before it.

V K Saxena, President of Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), and Patkar have been embroiled in a legal battle since 2000 after she filed a suit against him for publishing advertisements against her and the NBA.

Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of the Congress said, "I demand a statement from the chief minister on Mehta. What Mehta did was in violation of rules. Fadnavis himself has admitted that Mehta did not inform him before transferring development rights. Still, no action has been initiated against him."