India, April 25 -- Activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar was arrested on Friday and released hours later after furnishing bond assurances in a 24-year-old defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. The arrest followed a non-bailable warrant issued earlier this week after Patkar failed to submit probation bonds as directed by the court.

The case dates back to 2001, when Saxena, then heading the Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties, accused Patkar of defamation over a press note titled "True Face of Patriot" issued by her on November 25, 2000. The note, according to the court, questioned Saxena's patriotism and integrity, calling it a "direct attack" on his personal character and pub...