Metropolitan Magistrate Vikrant Vaid took strong objection to Patkar's absence and rejected her request for exemption from appearance through a counsel, who did not possess an authorisation letter from her, saying the grounds taken by her were "not convincing" and "do not inspire confidence of the court".
Patkar through a proxy counsel claimed that she was in a demonstration in a village in Madhya Pradesh and she could not get a confirmed train ticket to the national capital to appear in the defamation cases involving her and Saxena, who as a President of the Ahmedabad-based NGO, National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), were embroiled in the legal battle.