Delhi: A Delhi court issued a non-bailable warrant on Wednesday against controversial NGO operator Medha Patkar after she failed to meet the conditions of her release on probation. Patkar had been convicted in a defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena. The court had ordered her to deposit a bond of ₹25,000 and compensation of ₹1 lakh by April 23, but she failed to comply. Patkar was sentenced to five months of imprisonment and fined in May 2024.

Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh of the Saket District Court rejected Patkar’s request to postpone the execution of the April 8 order, which required her to fulfill the conditions by April 23. Judge Singh described Patkar’s application as “mischievous and frivolous,” accusing her of attempting to “hoodwink” the court by failing to appear and comply with the order. The court also warned that if Patkar did not meet the conditions by the next hearing, it would reconsider her sentence.

Patkar’s lawyers, Abhimanyu Shreshtha and Sridevi Panniker, argued that she had been out of the city for two weeks and requested a delay until her return. The court rejected this request and set the next hearing for May 3.

The court’s order came just a day after Patkar made a similar request to the Delhi High Court, which directed her to approach the trial court and warned of consequences if she failed to comply.

Patkar had been sentenced to five months in prison and a fine in May 2024 for defamation following her press release in 2000, accusing Saxena of hawala links. Saxena filed the defamation case in 2001, alleging that Patkar’s statement was false and harmed his reputation. In May 2024, Magistrate Raghav Sharma convicted Patkar, stating that her actions were deliberate and aimed at damaging Saxena’s reputation. On April 2, 2024, Judge Singh upheld this conviction and granted Patkar probation with conditions on April 8. DeshGujarat