A local magisterial court in Gujarat’s Mehsana convicted leading activist and independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and nine others in a five-year-old case on Thursday.
The court sentenced them to three months’ imprisonment for taking out an ‘Azadi march’ from Mehsana to Dhanera in Banaskantha district without police permission in July 2017. Besides Mr. Mevani, NCP leader and former member of the Patidar agitation Reshma Patal has also been convicted under section 143 of the Indian Penal Code.
In addition to the sentence, the court also imposed a fine of ₹1,000 each on all the 10 convicts.
“We will appeal in the sessions court against the judgement,” Mr. Mevani told media persons in Mehsana after the court delivered its judgement.
The court accepted Mr. Mevani’s plea for a stay on the order and granted bail to all the convicts till they filed an appeal in the higher court.
Originally, 12 accused were named in the FIR. However, one person died during the trial while another remains absconding.
Ms. Patel was not part of any political outfit at the time of the incident. She was a member of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) that had organised Statewide agitation demanding quotas in jobs and education.
