Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Alpesh Katheriya Monday filed an application before Gujarat High Court, challenging the cancellation of his bail in a sedition case. The application was filed by Katheriya’s lawyer Rafik Lokhandwala as the former is absconding.
Lokhandwala requested the court to hear the case on an urgent basis. The court, however, refused.
Talking to The Indian Express, Lokhandwala said, “We have filed an application before the Gujarat High Court today to challenge the Principal and Session judge’s order of cancellation of bail of Alpesh in sedition case. We have requested the court to take the matter on urgent basis which the court refused to do. Now, in the coming days our application will come for hearing and we will put our side to challenge the cancellation of bail.”
Katheriya was arrested on November 19 last year by Surat police in the sedition case lodged against him at Amroli police station in 2015. He was granted bail on December 3 with some conditions laid by Principal and Sessions judge of Surat court. On December 28, the PAAS leader allegedly misbehaved with traffic police in Varachha area after the bike of his friend was towed away for being parked in a no-parking zone. Katheriya was then taken to Varachha police station, where he allegedly misbehaved with policemen as a result of which he was arrested and put behind bars. In the lock-up, he allegedly abused and threatened a policeman, a video of which was recorded by other police officials. Following this, police had registered a case against Katheriya. Later in the evening of December 28, he was released on bail.
On December 31, Surat Crime Branch police officials had filed an application before the Surat district court, seeking cancellation of bail given to Katheriya in the sedition case as he had violated the bail conditions by “misusing his liberty and failing to maintain law and order”.
The district court while hearing the Crime Branch application on January 15 cancelled the bail granted to Katheriya in the sedition case and asked police to arrest him immediately. Following the court order, Crime Branch officials had carried out raids at Katheriya’s house in Varachha and other probable places but he has not been traced yet.
