In a brief relief for Congress leader Hardik Patel, the Gujarat High Court (HC) on Wednesday granted interim stay on the operation of non-bailable warrant that was issued by an Ahmedabad court last month. The warrant was issued owing to the leader’s absence from trial in a sedition case that dates back to 2015. The court of Justice S H Vora granted him interim relief until the next hearing, scheduled for March 9. Advocate Rafik Lokhandwala representing Patel said the second non-bailable warrant by the Ahmedabad court was issued on February 7. This comes in a span of less than a month, after the first warrant was issued on January 18. He was arrested hours later the same day from near Viramgam whereafter he was granted bail on January 22. The second non-bailable warrant has been issued for skipping court appearance in relation to the ongoing trial of a 2015 FIR registered against Patel following the Patidar agitation across the state. The FIR was filed at the Ahmedabad Department of Crime Branch (DCB) police station. Lokhandwala said, “An exemption application was submitted on the ground that the Vastrapur police station was looking to apprehend him (Patel, in relation to a 2015 FIR for unlawful assembly at GMDC grounds). However it was rejected and a non-bailable warrant was issued.” On Friday, the Supreme Court had granted Patel interim immunity against arrest for a week, in relation to the Vastrapur police station criminal case.
