Patidar leader Hardik Patel gets conditional bail in rioting case

Patidar reservation movement leader Hardik Patel In Ahmedabad on Friday. (file photo)

Gujarat High Court Monday granted bail to Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel in Visnagar rioting case, on the condition that he will not enter Mehsana for nine months. The court allowed Patel to appeal against its decision to bar him from Mehsana only after the completion of an earlier six-month ban order.

The high court last week granted bail to Patel in the sedition case filed against him after the Patidar agitation turned violent. He was asked by the court to stay out of Gujarat for a period of six months. He was, however, not released from jail as another was pending against him. The court observed that it was unfair to blame Patel for the violence without any prima facie evidence pointing at his involvement.

Patidars demanding reservation under the OBC quota set fire to state transport buses and blocked roads in several cities.