Ahmedabad (Gujarat): Gujarat Congress leader Hardik Patel has been granted relief by the Supreme Court by staying his two years sentence on Tuesday. He was convicted for rioting and arson in the town during the 2015 Patidar quota stir. The Gujarat High Court granted him bail in August 2018. In July 2018, the sessions court at Visnagar had sentenced Hardik Patel to two years’ imprisonment.
An SC bench of Justices SA Nazeer and Vikram Nath on Tuesday stayed his conviction, allowing him to contest the next Assembly elections, pending a hearing on his appeal against his conviction. Earlier, in 2019 he was barred from contesting the polls as the Gujarat High Court only stayed the execution of his sentence. Hence, Hardik Patel was unable to contest the 2017 Assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The apex court allowed Patel to enter the fray in the 2022 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections now that their stay has ended. Hardik Patel stated, "I'm thankful to the Supreme court for staying my two-year sentence. The apex court has stayed the lower court's order, which sentenced me to two years' imprisonment. By staying the sentence the court has granted me to serve the people. Now I will go to the Legislative Assembly to work for the people and raise their voice."
Also Read:Withdraw case against Patidar youth or be prepared for agitation: Congress Leader Hardik Patel
He demanded that the cases involving Patidars be dropped. "I am adhering to the demand that the Gujarat government dismiss the case against the Patidars. If you perform a good job, you will earn the love of the people of Gujarat," Hardik Patel added.
