Assault on Medha Patkar: Delhi LG VK Saxena seeks abeyance from criminal trial

Elhi Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has filed an application to stay the criminal proceedings against him in the Ahmedabad Magistrate's Court in Gujarat until he assumes constitutional office.

Saxena, who filed the application on March 1, is accused of allegedly assaulting Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activist Medha Patkar in 2005. Citing Article 361(2) of the Constitution granting immunity from criminal proceedings, Saxena asked the court not to proceed against him as long as he remains the Governor of the National Capital Territory (NCT).

Saxena said that the Governors are selected by the Central Government and appointed by the President of India, while the Lieutenant Governor is selected and appointed by the President himself. He further said that the LG of NCT Delhi "enjoys a 'function' higher than the Governor and lower than the President".

On 7 April 2002, a crowd of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth workers protested the presence of NBA leader at the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram during the post-Godhra violence. They allegedly attacked Patkar, who was at the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram to attend a meeting of civil rights activists to appeal for peace when Gujarat was going through communal unrest. The Sabarmati police station has registered an FIR in this case in which several mediators also sustained injuries.

Apart from Saxena, BJP MLAs Amit Shah and Amit Thaker and Congress leader Rohit Patel are also accused in the case, facing charges of unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct, voluntary bodily harm, unlawful restraint, willful insult with intent to cause breach of peace and criminal intimidation. .