Hardik Patel

The Gujarat High Court today granted bail to Patidar reservation spearhead Hardik Patel in the last case against him, preparing the ground for his release after nearly 10 months in jail.

The Gujarat high court today granted bail to Patidar agitation spearhead Hardik Patel in two sedition cases on the condition that he will stay outside the state for six months.

A Supreme Court bench comprising justices JS Khehar and C Nagappan today restrained the media from reporting the proceedings of the hearing of the SLP filed by the Patidar leader, Hardik Bharatbhai Patel against the dismissal of his bail petition by the Gujarat High Court and seeking quashing of FIR lodged against him.

Hardik Patel, a young leader agitating for reservations to Patidar community and currently in jail on sedition charges moved the Gujarat high court challenging the interception of his and his associates’ phone calls by the police and sought an independent inquiry into the matter, reported The New Indian Express

As Patel is in jail, his father filed the petition on his behalf. Patel claims that his phone was unlawfully tapped by the police, which admitted in the FIR against him that it had tapped his phones.

The police registered an FIR against Hardik and his aides Chirag Patel, Ketan Patel, Dinesh Patel, Alpesh Kathiria and Amrish Patel on 21 October on charges of sedition and waging war against the government. The FIR also alleges that the Patel leaders and members of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti conspired to topple the state government, it was reported.

The report claims that the police had started tapping the phones in August, though the permission for it was obtained only on 3 October. The matter is likely to come up for hearing on 3 November.