Summary:
Patel wants the sentence to be suspended so that he can contest the Lok Sabha election. Counsel for the state government argued that Hardik is a habitual offender with several FIRs registered against him in various police stations. The petitioner also stated that before he took up the reservation agitation, no criminal case was registered against him. He was convicted in the case in July 2018 by a Visnagar Court in Mehsana district, which found him guilty for rioting in the Visnagar MLA's office. Hardik's lawyer Rafik Lokhandwala, however, opposed the state's request and argued before the court that the government was wasting time..