Quota agitation leader Hardik Patel was on Friday granted bail by the Gujarat High Court in two cases of sedition filed against him, but will have to remain in jail because of a third case, in which a bail plea hearing is expected to take place next week.
Patel's lawyer Zubin Bharda told International Business Times, India, that the Gujarat HC has granted the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader bail on condition that he has to stay out of the state for six months once he is released from jail.
Patel, who has been leading the agitation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat for reservation in educational institutions and jobs for the Patel community, had been booked for sedition in two cases late last year, one of which pertains to the 22-year-old apparently exhorting his supporters to kill policemen.
At a meeting with his supporters in Surat, when one Vipul Desai said he was willing to give his life for the protest, Patel is said to have replied: "If you have so much courage, then go and kill two to five policemen. Patels never commit suicide."
Patel's arrest had led to widespread unrest in the state, with several protests even turning violent.
Speaking about Friday's Gujarat HC order, Bharda told IBT: "We do not know if the court has imposed conditions on Hardik Patel other than the one about staying out of Gujarat after his release. However, he will have to stay in jail because of another case against him for which his bail application is pending before court, and will probably be heard next week. Only if he gets bail there will he be released. And then he will have to stay out of Gujarat for six months."
He added: "Meanwhile, the Gujaratv HC has also asked for an undertaking from Patel saying he will abide by all the terms and conditions set by it when granting bail. We had already submitted a similar undertaking earlier."
