Gujarat High Court seeks reply from Gujarat govt over PAAS convener Alpesh Kathiriya's bail

Gujarat High Court's single-judge bench of justice AY Kogje on Wednesday sought a reply from the state government within three-weeks on a bail plea filed by Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti's (PAAS) convener Alpesh Kathiriya.

Kathiriya is behind bars in connection with a sedition case lodged with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch in 2015 after widespread violence broke out across the state during Hardik's quota stir.

Kathiriya had moved the High Court after the city sessions court refused to grant bail to the PAAS leader in this case. The lower court had rejected the bail plea of Kathiriya stating that the offence committed was a grave one and that he had been in hiding for the past three years.

The court had also pointed out that a mere undertaking by the accused is not an assurance strong enough to grant him bail.

Kathiriya's lawyer had then argued that the case against him was politically motivated. Interestingly, Kathiriya's bail was one of the demands raised by PAAS leader Hardik Patel during his recent 19-day fast.