Delhi court exempts LG Saxena from personal appearance in case filed by Medha Patkar

New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) A court here exempted Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena from personal appearance till further orders in a defamation case filed by activist Medha Patkar.  Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Dahiya noted that Saxena had filed two applications: one seeking permanent exemption from personal appearance, and the other seeking immunity under Article 361 (protection of President and Governors and Rajpramukhs) of the Indian Constitution.  The court said the present case was one of the oldest matters pending in the Southeast district and was listed for the complainant's (Medha Patkar's) evidence.  It said the complainant was already examined and cross-examined in 2019, while two other witnesses were yet to be examined.  “The accused in the present case is holding a public office of repute as LG of Delhi and thus, looking after important constitutional duties and counsel for the accused has submitted that the identity of the accused shall not be disputed at any stage and he has further undertaken to appear regularly on each and every date,” the court said.  It said at the present stage, the most relevant consideration for the court was to take the trial forward without causing prejudice to any of the parties and no harm would be caused to the complainant if the application was allowed.  “It also seems that the interest of justice would be best served if the other witnesses are examined at the earliest and the trial is concluded in a time-bound manner,” the court said.  “...the accused is exempted from personal appearance through his counsel till further orders,” the court ruled on June 2.   During the proceedings, Saxena's counsel submitted that he would not pursue the application under Article 361 as any decision on that application would lead to further litigation between the parties and the trial of the case would be hampered.

The advocate said Saxena's presence in the court on each and every date is not possible owing to his important constitutional duties and if the trial was allowed through the accused's counsel instead of Saxena's personal appearance, no harm would be caused to the complainant.

Patkar's advocate, however, said the accused is trying to delay his application under Article 361 and that as Saxena is a public officer based in Delhi, there is no hurdle if he appears in court.  The court has fixed the next hearing in the case on August 11, 2023.