Gabriela Palacios told a radio station that her client Salome Isaacs "never said that her complaint of rape was untrue. She only said that she is withdrawing the charges to put and end to the matter."

Palacios said that Isaacs and her husband were tired of the "media circus."

On Thursday, in a dramatic turnaround, Isaacs -- a 26-year-old AIDS activist -- withdrew the charges in a statement put out by her attorneys Sihlali Molefe Incorporated.

The 53-year-old Desai, who was arrested on Monday after Isaacs alleged he raped her in a five star hotel in Bombay, was due to appear in Bombay's sessions court yesterday for a bail hearing.

Desai has been getting strong vocal support from South Africa, including from Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, ex-wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela, who visited him in detention. She said she knew the judge as an "honorable man".

Desai and Isaacs had both been in the Indian financial capital to attend an anti-globalisation forum.

Isaacs had told Indian police the judge raped her in his hotel room when she went to meet him at 3:00 am Sunday to discuss the next day's events at the World Social Forum.

The case has made waves in both India and South Africa and cast a shadow over the summit.