Gujarat court allows govt's plea to withdraw sedition cases against Hardik Patel, 4 others

Ahmedabad: A sessions court in Ahmedabad has allowed the Gujarat government's plea to withdraw sedition cases against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Hardik Patel and four others related to the 2015 Patidar quota agitation.

In its order passed on Saturday, the court of additional sessions judge MP Purohit allowed the application filed by special public prosecutor Sudhir Brahmbhatt for withdrawal from prosecution the sedition cases against Hardik Patel, Dinesh Bambhaniya, Chirag Patel, Ketan Patel and Alpesh Kathiriya.

The court discharged the five accused persons from all the charges levelled against them as withdrawn from prosecution under section 321 (a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

While charges against three accused were framed, the one against Ketan Patel was not framed as he was granted pardon subject to his deposition as witness in the case.

At the same time, the case was pending against Kathiriya at the stage of framing of charges after the investigating officer filed a supplementary chargesheet against the accused.

The Gujarat government had last month decided to withdraw nine cases filed in connection with the Patidar quota agitation of 2015, including two sedition cases.

The five were accused of instigating the members of the Patidar community for quota in educational institutions and government jobs, and executed this in a pre-planned manner "for the purpose of bringing into hatred and contempt, and to excise disaffection towards the Government of Gujarat," the court noted in its order.

Following large-scale violence in Gujarat after the Patel community's mega rally in Ahmedabad on August 25, 2015, the city crime branch arrested Hardik Patel and three of his aides and booked them under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

Surat police registered another sedition case against Hardik Patel for allegedly exhorting youth of his community to kill police personnel instead of committing suicide.