Gujarat court on Friday acquitted former Patidar leader and Viramgam BJP MLA Hardik Patel in a 5-year-old case wherein he was accused of delivering a political speech at a gathering violating the Gujarat Police Act.

Manish Nandani, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Jamnagar, cleared Patel and Ankit Ghadiya of all charges, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that even the complainant, a now-retired government worker, was not aware of all the details in the complaint.

The police booked Patel and Ankit for giving a political speech at a rally in Dhutarpur village of Jamnagar district on November 4, 2017. The two initially obtained police permission for conducting a social event.

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According to the reports, Ghadiya had requested permission from the Mamlatdar’s (executive magistrate) office in advance of the event on the grounds that Patel would speak to the crowd on social and educational changes. The prosecution said that was the only reason the authorization was given.

The magistrate observed that the filing of the complaint and the subsequent inquiry was done in a mechanical manner and that there is no concrete evidence to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hardik Patel was charged with violating the terms of the rally’s permission by delivering a political speech in violation of those rules.

Gujarat Police registered an FIR against Patel and Ghadiya, a Jamnagar native, for violating Gujarat Police Act under Sections 36(a), 72(2), and 134 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with penalties for disobeying government orders.

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