As several states move to withdraw cases filed against those who participated in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests against the NEET paper leak, the BJP-led Gujarat government has over the last eight years withdrawn almost 270 of the 300 cases filed during the Hardik Patel-led Patidar quota agitation. Last week, the BJP government withdrew the last of the cases against Patel citing “larger public interest”.The agitation that began in July 2015 seeking the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota for Gujarat’s agrarian Patidar community, viewed as among the state’s wealthiest, culminated in a major rally in Ahmedabad in August 2015 that ended in violent clashes with the police. Several cases were filed mainly in Ahmedabad, Surat, Morbi, Mehsana, Amreli and Rajkot against Patidars.AdvertisementOf the 300-odd cases filed between 2015 to 2019, the state government has withdrawn nearly 270 as part of its negotiations with the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), whose convener was Hardik Patel. Patel himself faced 30 cases, including for sedition.The agitation had far-reaching political ramifications with then chief minister Anandiben Patel stepping down in 2016 and the BJP seeing its worst performance in the 2017 Assembly elections, winning only 99 of 182 seats with the Congress winning 77, its best tally since 1995. After backing the Congress in the 2017 polls, Patel formally joined the Congress in 2019 before switching to the BJP in 2022. In the 2022 polls, he was elected as the Viramgam MLA on a BJP ticket.Cases withdrawn ‘in public interest’As recently as July 21, a magisterial court in Ahmedabad had allowed a Gujarat government application to withdraw a criminal case registered against seven people including Hardik Patel,AdvertisementIn the case in question, Patel faced charges of unlawful assembly, rioting, deterring a public servant from performing duty, disobeying a lawful order, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy. The state government’s application seeking the withdrawal of the case before the court, cited “larger public interest” and “fostering peace and social harmony”. Patel also faced two sedition cases, both stand withdrawn.“This court finds no malafide intention in the application, and the grounds of maintaining public peace and social harmony satisfy the requirements for withdrawal in the interest of justice,” the magistrate said.Notably, this was among the last of around 30 criminal cases registered against Patel during the agitation. In the one pending case, he was convicted by a Sessions Court in Mehsana on charges of rioting and arson at the office of then sitting Visnagar MLA and current BJP state minister Rushikesh Patel. In July 2018, Sessions Court had sentenced Patel to two years’ imprisonment in the case. Patel later challenged the conviction and the appeal remains pending before the Gujarat High Court.The remaining cases were either withdrawn, resulted in acquittals, or were quashed by courts.A top government source told The Indian Express that the cases have been withdrawn under the provisions of Section 321 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC, now known as the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita or BNSS). Section 321 empowers a public prosecutor or assistant public prosecutor in-charge of a case to withdraw the case, with the court’s consent, any time before the trial is completed.What was the Patidar agitation?In 2015, Patidar community leaders had launched an agitation seeking OBC status in Gujarat. However, gradually, the agitation turned into a movement seeking reservation for the economically weaker sections of society.As the agitations intensified, the BJP government began negotiations with the Patidars. Among the main demands of the Patidar leaders was the withdrawal of criminal cases registered against protesters across the state. The government agreed to withdraw the cases in September 2017.In February 2025, the Gujarat government announced it would withdraw nine criminal cases registered in Surat, Ahmedabad and Mehsana. Two of these cases included sedition charges against Patel and others.Dinesh Bambhaniya, a PAAS leader, said that around 24 cases registered in Surat are still to be withdrawn. However, these are cases in which the government has approved a withdrawal but are pending at the procedural level in districts or courts, Bambhaniya said.Dalits’ demand pendingA year after the Patidar quota agitation began, Una in Gir Somnath district saw the public flogging of seven Dalits by self-styled cow vigilantes in July 2016. The incident sparked protests across the state, with around 75 cases registered against protesters on charges of rioting, unlawful assembly, damage to public property, and preventing a public servant from performing duty, among others.The Dalit community leaders, including the Congress’s Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani, have been demanding withdrawals of these cases.you may likeMevani had emerged as a key youth face of the Dalit community during the agitation. He led a march from Ahmedabad to Una in August 2016. His political stature continued to increase after that and he went on to become an MLA from the Vadgam constituency twice, first as an Independent and then as Congress candidate after joining the party in 2021.Kaushik Parmar, a Dalit leader from Mehsana, said, “Around 75 criminal cases were registered during the Dalit protests following the Una incident. We have demanded withdrawal of these cases with several reminders. However, so far, there is no word on the withdrawals.”Parmar said the first formal representation to the government was made in 2017, followed by at least a dozen others. In February 2025, when the Gujarat government withdrew criminal cases against Patidar community members, Mevani had welcomed the decision, demanding to know when the state government would drop cases registered against Dalits during the Una agitation.