Senior journalist and columnist Gauri Lankesh was produced before a Hubballi court on Saturday after a bailable warrant was issued against her in a defamation case.

Gauri was produced before the II Judicial Magistrate First Class court in Hubballi in connection with a defamation case filed against her in 2007 by BJP MP Prahlad Joshi. The warrant had been issued as she had failed to appear before the court on more than one occasion.

Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner HP Rane told The News Minute that she was technically in judicially custody but would not be sent to jail. “It is a bailable warrant, meant to produce someone before a court.”

In 2007, Prahlad Joshi had filed a case of defamation with the Sub-Urban police station in Hubballi against Gauri over an article she wrote.

“Then, the police had busted a racket in which some people were selling fake gold, and a couple of BJP corporators had been implicated. Police did not find them, but she alleged that the BJP and I were running racket of selling fake gold,” Prahlad said.

This could not be independently verified with the police. Gauri was not reachable over the phone.