Medha Patkar Withdraws Supreme Court Plea in Longstanding Defamation Battle

Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, withdrew her Supreme Court plea in a prolonged defamation case against Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena. The Supreme Court bench was about to close the case when Patkar's counsel withdrew the plea. The high court upheld previous rulings and convictions.

Narmada Bachao Andolan leader, Medha Patkar, withdrew her appeal from the Supreme Court against an order denying her request to examine more witnesses in a defamation suit involving Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena.

The bench, including Justices M M Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma, believed that the decades-old case warranted closure. They were poised to issue a closure order preventing further action by either party in the matter.

Amid reluctance from the bench on granting Patkar relief from the high court's decision, which denied her further witness examination, her counsel opted to withdraw. The trial court previously ruled the case as a delay tactic, lacking credibility from her witnesses.

(With inputs from agencies.)