Gujarat court acquits Hardik Patel in 5-year-old case of disobeying govt order

A court in Gujarat’s Jamnagar on Friday acquitted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) BJP legislator Hardik Patel in a five-year-old case after the prosecution failed to establish the case.

The Patidar leader was accused of delivering a political speech at a gathering in contravention of the conditions set by the authorities while granting permission for the event.

Jamnagar chief judicial magistrate Manish Nandani exonerated Patel and one Ankit Ghadiya of all charges noting that “the prosecution had failed to establish its case beyond any doubt.”

“Also, the complainant, now a retired government employee, was not aware of all the details in the complaint,” the court noted.

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As per the first information report (FIR) registered at Jamnagar ‘A’ Division police station, Patel, who then spearheaded the Patidar quota agitation under the banner of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), allegedly delivered a “political” speech at a rally in Dhutarpur village of Jamnagar district on November 4, 2017, a month ahead of the 2017 Gujarat state assembly elections. He was permitted on the ground that he would address the crowd on “education and social reforms.”

Ahead of the event, Ghadiya approached the office of the Mamlatdar (executive magistrate) to seek permission. However, at the event, Patel was accused of giving a “political speech” in violation of the conditions on which the permission for the rally was granted.

He and Ghadiya were booked under sections 36(a), 72(2) and 134 of the Gujarat Police Act, which deals with punishment for disobeying government orders.

In the order, the court said that the prosecution failed to explain why an FIR was registered after nearly 70 days after the event and sought the video footage of Patel’s speech.

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The magistrate also noted that not just the ‘panchs’ (witnesses) but even the complainant in the case, Kirit Sanghavi, was not aware of the contents of the speech.

Patel who quit Congress ahead of the December 2022 Gujarat polls and was subsequently elected as an MLA on a BJP ticket from the Viramgam constituency of Ahmedabad, faces more than two dozen cases, including two sedition cases in Gujarat.