Ahmedabad

A division bench led by Justice M R Shah  heard the habeas corpus  petition regarding Patidar Aanamat Andolan Samiti(PAAS) leader Hardik Patel at his residence past midnight.

Advocate B M Mangukiya, (who is also a Congress party leader) who filed the petition on behalf of Hardik Patel aide Ketan Patel, had approached Acting Chief Justice Jayant Patel with a plea for urgent hearing.

The Acting CJ Patel requested Justice Shah to hear the matter, Mangukiya said. The court will further hear the case on 24 September at 11.00 am.

Mangukiya had filed petition apprehending that Hardik was picked up by police.

“There was no trace of Hardik and we did not know where he was. We later got to know that he was being threatened for the past two days by the state government and their supporters. They were asking him to end the protest,” said Mr Patel’s lawyer BM Mangukiya.

Police has however denied such job from very beginning and maintained that Hardik fled like a thief away seeing the police and police was still in search of him.

The court asked to produce Hardik Patel by tomorrow.

Mangukiya who approached court past midnight belongs to Patidar community. He is Chairman of Congress party’s Gujarat unit Legal cell. He has been Congress candidate in year 2012 general elections of assembly.