Gujarat High Court asks Ahmed Patel to appear before it on June 20

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday expressed its unhappiness over Congress leader Ahmed Patel for his failure to appear before the court for his deposition in the election petition filed by BJP's Balvantsinh Rajput, challenging his Rajya Sabha poll victory.

The Congress leader was supposed to appear before the court on Wednesday for his 'examination-in-chief'. Instead, he moved an application through his lawyer PS Champaneri demanding that he be examined in the case at a later stage after other witnesses in the case are examined, citing health reasons. The single-judge bench of Justice Bela Trivedi, however, rejected the same citing several lacunas in the application, as was pointed out by Rajput's senior counsel Nirupam Nanavati.

Patel submitted through his application that he was admitted in Metro Heart Institute, Faridabad, on June 8 and was discharged on June 9 and due to his ill health, he could not appear before the court. However, it was vehemently opposed by Nanavati on the ground that the application and the hospital's discharge summary do not specify the ailment for which Patel was admitted and treated. The court, at this stage, remarked that the ailment of Patel does not appear to be a serious one as he was released on the next day of admission.

Nanavati also argued that the application is vague without any medical certificate and insisted that as per the rules, Patel needs to be examined first before other witnesses on his behalf are examined. Accepting the objections raised by Rajput's counsel, the court straightaway rejected Patel's application. He was further directed to file an affidavit on June 18 and depose before the court on June 20. The court also clarified that no further time will be granted to him.