SC upholds conviction of Medha Patkar in defamation case, waives penalty of ₹1 lakh

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said it was not inclined to interfere with the Delhi high court order on the matter that released Medha Patkar on "probation of good conduct" but required her to appear before the trial court once every three years.

It added, "However, taking into consideration the submission of the counsel for the petitioner, the penalty imposed stands set aside and we further clarify that the supervision order will not be given effect."

The high court on July 29 upheld the conviction and punishment awarded to 70-year-old Patkar. Saxena filed the case 25 years ago when he was heading an NGO in Gujarat.