Hardik Patel denied bail in Surat sedition case

The bail plea of Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel, who is behind the bars in a sedition case for allegedly inciting a fellow activist to kill policemen instead of committing suicide, was on Thursday rejected by a district and sessions court here. Principal district judge Geeta Gopi dismissed the bail plea of 22-year-old firebrand leader, who spearheaded the agitation demanding reservation for the Patel community under the OBC category. Two sedition complaints were filed against Mr Patel, one in Surat and another in Ahmedabad. On November 16, Hardik Patel, who is lodged in Lajpore jail here, moved his bail plea before the sessions court, claiming that he was booked under false charges, as mere spoken words do not amount to sedition. The plea said the state government deliberately slapped false charges on him to keep him away from the recently-held local bodies polls across the state. The Surat police had arrested Hardik in October on charges of sedition for allegedly inciting a fellow activist Vipul Desai “to kill policemen instead of committing suicide”.

Later, Ahmedabad crime branch also invoked sedition charge against on October 21 for allegedly inciting Patel youths to resort to violence.