Hardik Patel moves SC against HC order over his conviction

Hardik Patel

New Delhi: Congress leader Hardik Patel on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat High Court order rejecting his plea to stay his conviction in the 2015 Vispur rioting case. His petition is likely to be mentioned on Tuesday for urgent hearing and his lawyers would seek stay of the March 29 order of the HC, which is coming in the way of his contesting the Lok Sabha election.

Patel, 25, had started preparations to contest from Jamnagar on a Congress ticket after joining the party on March 12 and the last date for filing of nominations is April 4. Polling for 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held on April 23.

The Sessions Court at Visnagar in Mehsana district sentenced Patel to two years' imprisonment last July for rioting and arson in Visnagar town in 2015 during the Patidar quota stir, which he led.

The high court in August 2018 suspended the sentence but not the conviction. Under the Election Law, a convict facing a jail term of two years or more cannot stand for election unless the conviction is stayed. In the high court, the state government had submitted that there were 17 FIRs, including two sedition complaints against Patel, who is known for making inflammatory speeches.

2015
Year the Vispur rioting case had taken place

Mar 29
Day HC passed the order refusing to stay his conviction

2018
Year HC had suspended Patel's sentence

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