Surendranagar, Gujarat: A court in Surendranagar district has issued an arrest warrant against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Hardik Patel after he failed to appear before the court in a 2017 case related to violation of a government order.

The case dates back to November 2017, ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections, when Patel allegedly delivered a political speech in Haripar village in violation of conditions set by the administration for organizing a public meeting.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate D. D. Shah of Dhrangadhra issued the arrest warrant on February 2 and directed the Dhrangadhra taluka police station to arrest Patel and produce him before the court. The police confirmed that they received the order on February 11.

An FIR was lodged at the Dhrangadhra police station on January 12, 2018, naming Hardik Patel and co-accused Kaushik Patel under Sections 37(3) and 135 of the Gujarat (Bombay) Police Act, 1951, for disobeying government orders. Interestingly, Patel was acquitted just last week by a Jamnagar court in a similar case involving a political rally in Dhutarpar village in November 2017.

At the time of the alleged offense, Patel was leading the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), spearheading a state-wide agitation demanding OBC quota reservation for Patidar youths, which had turned violent in several places.

Patel, who later joined the Congress in 2019 and subsequently switched to the BJP ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections, now serves as MLA from Viramgam constituency and continues to face over two dozen cases, including two sedition cases.