In a setback to the Patel agitation leader Hardik Patel, who is facing two sedition cases in Surat and Ahmedabad, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday rejected his plea that sought quashing of the sedition case slapped on him by the Surat police. The sedition case was filed against Mr. Hardik after a purported video clip surfaced in which the 22-year-old Hardik, who has been spearheading a very charged agitation for quotas, was heard asking a distressed Patel youth to “kill 3 to 4 policemen instead of killing self.”
The High Court ruled that his alleged remark was meant to incite violence, which is not allowed under the law.
However, the High Court has asked the police to scrap another charge of creating enmity between different communities as the court held that the speeches of Mr. Hardik did not amount to create enmity and hatred among the different communities during the Patel agitation.
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At present, Mr Hardik and his key aides are in police remand with the Ahmedabad crime branch, which also filed sedition case against them for trying to “topple the government and destabilise the State using violence.”
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Shivanand Jha suspended two police constables for clicking a selfie with Mr. Hardik in police custody. The order stated that taking photograph with an accused is indiscipline.
The High Court ruled that Hardik’s alleged remark was meant to incite violence.
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