A Delhi court on Saturday acquitted social activist Medha Patkar in a criminal defamation case moved against her by Delhi L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena in 2006, noting that “without original footage or the device recording the same being brought on record”, it remains unproven that the accused made the alleged defamatory statements.
Saxena, who was then the president of the National Council of Civil Liberties (NCCL), had alleged that on April 20, 2006, during a live television programme, Patkar had made defamatory statements against him.
These alleged statements pertained to Saxena getting contracts related to the Sardar Sarovar Project. During the news programme where Saxena was present in person, he said that he had never received any such contract.
The court considered the statements of then TV anchor Nirnay Kapoor while passing the judgment. It The court reasoned that Saxena never said that Patkar was present in the studio or as a panelist during the show, and instead, Saxena’s deposition “reinforces the suspicion that the accused was not a panelist in the show and that only her audio-video footage was played therein,” said Judicial Magistrate First Class Raghav Sharma of Saket Court in his order.
“This footage is relevant only for proving that the complainant attended the programme, that the clip of the accused was played, that he saw it and reacted to it, and for proving other aspects recorded therein… The dispute lies on the fact that whether accused made the impugned statements. It is the original audio video recording which originally recorded the accused speaking impugned statements, which would prove the disputed fact. This document has not been tendered in the evidence,” he added.
“The original footage recording the accused speaking as such at the relevant time has not been produced in court. 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,” the judge added.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
