Gujarat govt wants Hardik Patel to face criminal case

The legal trouble for 26-year-old Congress leader Hardik Patel, who has been touring the state to raise issues of government's failure in resolving issues such as unemployment, privatisation of education and farm crisis among others, looks far from getting over.

The state government wants to proceed with a criminal case against the Patidar leader in connection with an alleged assault and dacoity case that has been in cold storage since 2017 in the high court. 

In an affidavit filed recently in Gujarat High Court, the state government has requested the court to vacate the relief it had granted to Hardik. The court had told the police not take any action against him.

Interestingly, complainant Narendra Patel had filed an affidavit back then in the court stating that "the matter is settled between the parties."

The state's affidavit says, "the offense is of serious in nature. On a plain reading of the FIR and investigation conducted so far, the involvement of the accused is disclosed and can't be discarded. Thus, looking to this aspect of the matter, it is necessary to vacate the ad-interim relief granted by the court."

According to a source, the state government is likely to appeal in the high court to hear the matter on an urgent basis this week.

The case concerns an FIR lodged in Patan town of north Gujarat in 2017 by Narendra Patel, one of the conveners of Patidar Ananmat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), against Hardik Patel and his associate Dinesh Bhambhaniya alleging and five of their supporters. Hardik and his associate were accused of attacking Narendra and robbing him of a gold chain. Later, the police added sections of rioting and conspiracy in the FIR.

After the FIR, Hardik Patel moved the high court for quashing of the FIR where Narendra filed an affidavit saying that he had no grievance against the accused.

Hardik Patel has already been convicted by a Mehansa court in a rioting case and after he failed to get a stay on this conviction, he couldn't contest Lok Sabha polls.