New Delhi: The political future of Congress leader Hardik Patel is stuck in a limbo after the Gujarat High Court on March 29 upheld his conviction in the Mehsana violence case and the face of Patidar agitation might not be able to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election after the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday refused to hold an urgent hearing in the case.
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However, it is worth mention here that Patel had sought for an urgent hearing from the apex court as April 4 is the last date to file nominations in Gujarat for the crucial general elections. He was hoping to contest from the Jamnagar constituency on a Congress ticket. His petition states that he has been “framed in several cases as I don’t bow before the Bharatiya Janata Party” and that the filing of the cases is “malafide”. He has also called the case a “view to suppress the voice of masses”. Patel has called his conviction a witch hunt and asserted that he has faced the situation as he spoke against the BJP government.
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Here it is to be noted that a lower court had convicted Patel in the 2015 Mehsana violence case, handing him a two-year imprisonment sentence for rioting and arson in Visnagar during the Patidar quota stir. He was also accused of attacking the office of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rushikesh Patel in Visnagar. The Gujarat High Court later commuted the jail sentence and granted him bail; the conviction, however, has not been stayed. Under the Representation of the People Act, a convict facing a jail term of two or more years cannot contest unless a stay has been put on the conviction. The person shall be disqualified for the duration of his sentence and a further six years after the release.