Correspondent, Ahmedabad:

Jailed Patidar quota stir leader and PAAS convener Hardik Patel today informed the Gujarat High Court that he was ready to leave Gujarat for six months if granted bail in the two sedition cases lodged in Surat and Ahmedabad in connection with the incidents during the violent agitation.

The hearing on the bail pleas in the high court was was concluded today and the verdict would be delivered later for which no date has been fixed as of now.
During the final hearing on the bail plea of Hardik in the court of Justice A J Desai today, government counsel Mitesh Amin reiterated that if granted bail, Hardik would indulge in such activities which could create threat to the peace and law and order in the state.

Countering this Hardik’s advocate Zubin Bharda said that if granted bail the PAAS leader was ready to go outside the state for a period of six months. He would also not indulge in any such activity which might create a situation of breach of peace.He also reiterated the earlier stand of the Patidar leader that he would run his agitation in peaceful and democratic manner on getting bail, a written assurance submitted in the court on May 3 which was rejected outright the very next day (May 4) by the state government.

The court would now deliver its verdict for which any date has not been fixed.

On the last date of hearing on June 9, Mr. Amin submitted the evidence regarding telephonic conversation between Hardik and his aide Alpesh Kathiria (one of the absconding accused in the sedition case lodged by crime branch of Ahmedabad police). He said that Hardik and his aides including Surat based Alpesh Kathiriya had posted many instigating statements on a whatsapp group active at the time of the agitation.

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 has got bail.

Another case of sedition was lodged against Hardik and five others (including 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, however his bail pleas were rejected by lower courts in Surat and Ahmedabad.

– DeshGujarat