New Delhi: The supreme court has stayed the conviction of Gujarat congress working committee president Hardik Patel in a riot case. This may pave a way for him to contest the election.

The conviction of Hardik Patel in the rioting and arson case is stayed by the supreme court till the appeals against the trial court verdict holding him guilty are decided. The bench of Justice S A Nazeer and Justice Vikram Nath said that it is a fit case for the Gujarat high court to have stayed the conviction. The senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Hardik Patel, submitted that not allowing Hardik Patel to contest the election is a violation of his right to freedom of expression. He further added that he had already lost one chance to contest the election in 2019 and the state had misused the police power against him.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state of Gujarat, said that the case should be decided based on criminal law parameters. He added that there is no one standard guideline to say which one is right, in criminal law. He also submitted that there is one charge under section 395 (dacocity) of the IPC against Hardik Patel, which is really serious.

The supreme court was hearing a plea filed by Hardik Patel challenging the judgement of the Gujarat high court seeking suspension of the conviction. A sessions court at Visnagar in Mehsana, in July 2018, had sentenced Hardik Patel to 2 years in jail for rioting and arson at Visnagar during Patidar Anamat Aandolan led by him in 2015. The Gujarat high court had suspended the sentence in August 2018, but not his conviction.