Gujarat court rejects Hardik Patel's plea to modify bail order

A sessions court here on Thursday rejected Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel's plea seeking to modify a bail condition that prevents him from leaving the state without the court's prior permission.

Taking into consideration the Gujarat government's objections, additional sessions judge B J Ganatra junked Patel's plea observing that the Congress leader can always approach the court whenever he wants to travel out of the state.

Patel was granted bail in January after his arrest following the issuance of a non-bailable warrant by the same court for remaining absent during the trial of a sedition case lodged against him in 2015.

The bail was granted on the condition that the Congress leader will not leave Gujarat without taking prior permission of the court.

After being appointed as the working president of the state Congress recently, the 26-year-old former quota spearhead approached the court seeking to remove the condition from his bail order, arguing that he will have to travel out of the state frequently due to this new responsibility.

However, the state government opposed Patel's plea, saying the sedition trial got delayed mainly because of him. Accepting the argument, judge Ganatra noted that the "plea deserves to be rejected so that the trial does not get delayed further". The court also added that as per the bail order, Patel can always go out of Gujarat after taking court's permission.

(Photo Credit: PTI)