Patkar and KVIC Chief Saxena against settling defamation cases

Activist Medha Patkar, who was facing warrant of production, today appeared before a Delhi Court in connection with the defamation cases filed by her and KVIC Chairman V K Saxena against each other.
Both of them refused the suggestion of the court to settle the matter through mediation.
The proceeding before Metropolitan Magistrate Nishant Garg did not make any progress as Patkar's advocate was not present.
Saxena's counsel Mahipal Ahluwalia was prepared for the proceedings which also involved her cross-examination by him.
The judge was hearing the 17 year-old matter for the first time as the previous magistrate was recently transferred.

The court had on August 17 issued a warrant seeking production of Patkar after she repeatedly failed to appear before it.

It had issued a warrant against her after she sought exemption from personal appearance on the ground that she was arrested by the Indore Police and sent to jail during her protests in Madhya Pradesh recently.
Costs of Rs 10,000 were also imposed on Patkar on August 3 for her repeated failure to appear before the court which had also warned her of dismissing her complaint against Saxena if she failed to appear again.
The court had on June 26 warned Patkar to be "careful in future" and cancelled the non-bailable warrant issued against her on May 29 for her non-appearance.

It had in January 2015 too, imposed Rs 3,000 as costs on her for non-appearance, giving her the "last and final opportunity" to present herself before it.
Patkar and Saxena have been embroiled in a legal battle since 2000 after she filed a suit against him for publishing advertisements against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). Saxena, in turn, had filed two cases against her for making derogatory statements.
When the matter came on board, Ahluwalia explained the genesis of the three cases between Saxena and the NBA leader which were listed before the Magistrate.
During the brief hearing, the Magistrate asked if the matter could be settled between them through mediation, to which both the parties replied in a negative.

"What do you want? Is there any scope of settlement between you two," the magistrate asked.
Patkar said an earlier attempt to reach at compromise did not fructify as she did not accept the proposal of Saxena, also President of Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), asking her to withdraw another complaint against him in Gujarat.
Noting the stand of both the parties, the magistrate said "efforts were made to arrive at a settlement but at present no possibility to settle the matter appears."
After the court was briefed about the case by Saxena's counsel, it adjourned the matter to December 8 for recording of evidence saying it "appears to be lengthy".