A metropolitan court in Ahmedabad has issued a non-bailable warrant against Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

The order came on Monday after Mevani failed to turn up for the third time for a hearing in a case filed against him for stopping the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express in January. About 40 people were booked after they held the protest in Ahmedabad.

The court rejected a plea by Mevani’s lawyer Shamshad Pathan, who said his his client was busy filing his nomination papers for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly election. Mevani is contesting as an independent candidate from Vadgam, a city in the northern part of the state.

Additional metropolitan magistrate RS Langa said that the nomination could have been filed earlier, The Times of India reported.