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The Gujarat High Court today granted conditional bail to jailed Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel in yet another case related to the caste based reservation agitation paving way for his release from the Lajpore central jail of Surat where he is lodged since his arrest in October last year.

        Earlier on July 8, the High Court had granted him conditional bail in two sedition cases lodged in Surat and Ahmedabad.

.  Today the court of justice P P Bhatt granted him bail in the case of violence, rioting and damage to public property after July 23, 2015 pro reservation rally of Patidar Anamat Aandolan Samiti (PAAS) in Visnagar town of Mahesana district in North Gujarat during which the office of local BJP MLA Rushikesh Patel was also attacked and vehicles parked outside were torched. 

      Hardik’s counsel Zubin Bharda said that the court has also put a ban on his entry in Mahesana district till the completion of the trial of the Visnagar case. He would however be able to make a request to the court after three months post his entry in Gujarat (after six months i e total nine months after his release from the jail) about a revision of the order on the ban on his entry in the North Gujarat district.

    Mr. Bharda said that Hardik would be able to walk out of jail after completion of other formalities provided there is no other case in which he still requires bail. 

    ‘The other conditions of the bail were similar to that of July 8 order in sedition case,’ he said adding that the court has refused his request to allow him to go to Unjha to visit Umiya Mata temple before leaving Gujarat as per its order. The counsel said that the government counsel opposed it saying that this might lead to a massive gathering causing law and order issue.

    The court has allowed him two days time from the time of release from the Lajpore central jail to collect his belongings and move out of the state. The Ahmedabad and Surat police would accompany him till he leaves the borders of Gujarat. 

    Hardik’s second counsel Rafik Lokhandwala said that after completion of the legal formalities in the three lower courts, his client is likely to come out of jail after two days. ‘He will have to inform the police about his address outside the state during his period of exile. He will also be able to go to his residence in Viramgam to collect his belongings before leaving the state in 48 hrs post his release.,’ Mr Lokhandwala said.

     Hardik had filed appeal in the High Court against the order of the lower court of Visnagar which had rejected his bail. Hardik is one of the 19 accused in the case. He and seven others were named initially in the case while the names of 11 others were added in the course of investigation.

     As per the July 8 order, Hardik will have to spend six months outside Gujarat after his release from the jail. The PAAS convener had himself submitted before the high court during the hearing on his bail plea in the two sedition cases that he was ready to move outside the state for six months if granted bail.He is also to submit a fresh undertaking to the high court in this matter in accordance with the bail conditions in the case. 
       

     Hardik, who is facing four main cases in connection with the violent quota stir, had already got bail in three of them. He was granted bail in the first case related to alleged insult of the national flag lodged in Paddhari of Rajkot. 

          Hardik is facing two cases of sedition. One was lodged in Amroli police station of Surat district in October last year for his alleged on camera suggestion to Vipul Desai ( a co-accused in the case) to kill policeman rather than committing suicide. He was arrested in the case in October from Rajkot and has been lodged in the Lajpore central jail of Surat since then. Two of his co-accused in the case Chirag Desai and Vipul Desai had  got bail prior to him.

        Another case of sedition was lodged against Hardik and five others (including his former aides Chirag, Ketan and Dinesh Patel) by the crime branch of Ahmedabad police for his alleged involvement and plotting of the state wide violence post a pro reservation rally on August 25 here. The three co-accused have got conditional bail from the high court after no objection from the state on their undertaking to not to participate in the agitation, Hardik’s bail pleas were rejected by the lower courts in Surat and Ahmedabad.

DeshGujarat