Jignesh Mevani gets bail in 2017 case, can’t leave Gujarat without court nod

The court ordered Jignesh Mevani and the other accused to surrender their passports before the court in a 2017 unlawful assembly case.

Jignesh Mevani, an Independent MLA from Gujarat, has been barred from leaving the state without court permission for organizing a march in 2017 without the police’s go ahead. Along with the legislator, 10 other accused will also have to get prior approval before leaving Gujarat. The sessions court, which was hearing their bail plea, also ordered them to surrender their passports before the court.

“I respect the court’s decision. But it is clear that the government is leaving no stone unturned to trouble me. I am a leader welcomed by people across the country. Recently, I was in Kerala to campaign for a bypoll. The BJP fears my rise across India and that is why they are trying their best to harass me by whatever means they can. But I am happy and proud that due to our Azadi Kooch yatra, lands, encroached upon for the past 50 years by anti-social elements, were freed. The government of Gujarat never takes any initiatives for the poor and the landless. So, we had to do the yatra to awaken the government of the day,” the MLA said right after the court order.

Jignesh Mevani and the others were sentenced to three months in prison in the case by a magisterial court last month. They approached the session’s court for bail this morning. The other accused in this case include Nationalist Congress Party leader Reshma Patel and the coordinator of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, Subodh Parmar.

Also Read: | After Hardik Patel's exit, Jignesh Mevani is Congress' poster boy in Gujarat

The Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch had planned to mark one year of the Una Movement with an Azadi Kooch in July 2017. The group called on Dalits to reclaim the lands allotted to them, but were encroached upon by anti-social elements over the past 50 years. The yatra was planned from Mehsana to Dhanera in Gujarat.

However, the police filed an FIR against Jignesh Mevani and 10 others for holding the rally without any police permission. Although the rally did not take place following police action, the state government was forced to intervene and allot the lands back to the Dalit families.

In April, Jignesh Mevani was arrested by the Assam Police in two cases. He was taken to Assam, where he spent nine days in jail before securing bail from a lower court.