A Delhi court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable warrant against Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar for failing to comply with its earlier directive to furnish probation bonds and pay a ₹1 lakh fine in a defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena.

The case dates back 23 years, to a time when Mr. Saxena was heading an NGO in Gujarat.

On April 8, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh had found the 70-year-old Patkar guilty of defamation and released her on probation for good conduct, subject to the condition that she pay the fine.

The matter was scheduled for Patkar’s appearance on Wednesday to complete the formalities. However, according to LG Saxena’s counsel, Advocate Gajinder Kumar, she neither appeared in court nor complied with its orders.

“The court has now issued a non-bailable warrant against Ms. Patkar through the Commissioner of Delhi Police,” the lawyer said, adding that the judge also termed her application seeking adjournment as “mischievous and frivolous.”

The court warned that if Patkar fails to meet the conditions by the next hearing on May 3, it may reconsider the lenient sentence granted earlier. A detailed order is awaited.

Mr. Saxena had originally filed the defamation case in 2000, in his capacity as President of the National Council of Civil Liberties, after Patkar issued a press release on November 24 that year, calling him a “coward” and accusing him of involvement in hawala transactions.

On May 24 last year, a magisterial court ruled that her statements were not only inherently defamatory but also aimed at damaging Saxena’s public image. It said her claim that he was “mortgaging” Gujarat’s people and resources to foreign interests was a direct assault on his integrity and service.

Arguments on sentencing concluded on May 30, and judgment on the quantum of sentence was reserved on June 7. On July 1, Patkar was sentenced to five months' simple imprisonment, a decision she later appealed in the sessions court.