Ahmedabad: A local court on Friday rejected the application moved by Congress leader Hardik Patel seeking temporary suspension of a bail condition that restricts him from leaving Gujarat.
The court of additional sessions judge B J Ganatra rejected the plea of state Congress working president Patel seeking a 12-week suspension of the bail condition imposed on him by the same court that requires him to seek its prior permission before leaving the state.
The sessions court had imposed the condition while granting him bail in January this year following his arrest for skipping a trial court hearing in a 2015 sedition case.
In its Friday order, while rejecting Patel's plea, the court said the applicant had failed to present a reasonable ground to seek a temporary suspension of the bail condition.
Patel had sought relief on the grounds that he has to frequently leave the state to fulfil his obligation as the working president of the state Congress.
The Congress leader also said that he needed to brief his lawyers in the Supreme Court regarding four cases pending before the apex court that are likely to be listed soon.
The court, in its order, observed that most of the political events are taking place through online and virtual mediums due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and hence, Patel's request to allow him to visit outside Gujarat for 12 weeks does not seem reasonable.
In light of the COVID-19 situation, there is no ground to accept that a petitioner has to meet his lawyer face to face, nor is there any immediate possibility of the four cases being listed in the apex court as mentioned by Patel in his plea, the court said.