UP court acquits Azam Khan in hate speech case
Though the acquittal came as a relief for Khan, who has been elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly from Rampur 10 times, it will not result in revocation of his suspension as an MLA due to his sentencing of two years in a 2008 case of assault on a public servant
MEERUT A sessions court designated to try parliamentarians and legislators in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur on Wednesday acquitted Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan in a 2019 hate speech case, overturning the three-year sentence awarded to him by a lower court.
Though the acquittal came as a relief for Khan, who has been elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly from Rampur 10 times, it will not result in revocation of his suspension as an MLA due to his sentencing of two years in a 2008 case of assault on a public servant.
On October 27 last year, an MP-MLA magistrate court awarded three-year jail term to Khan, the then SP legislator from Rampur Sadar seat, finding him guilty of hate speech in a 2019 case.
The case pertains to Khan allegedly using harsh words against then Rampur district magistrate Aunjaneya Kumar Singh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress candidate Sanjay Kapoor during a rally on April 7, 2019 in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
Following the magistrate court’s order, Khan was disqualified as an MLA under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, which states that anyone sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified “from the date of such conviction” and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time in jail. He had challenged the verdict in the MP-MLA sessions court of Rampur.
After hearing both sides, the MP-MLA sessions court pronounced his acquittal from the charges, said Khan’s counsel Zubair Ahmad Khan.
“The court observed that inadmissible evidences were taken into consideration while framing charges against him under sections 153A [promoting enmity between two groups] and 505 [statement conducing to public mischief] of the IPC [Indian Penal Code], along with Section 125 of Representation of People Act in an alleged 2019 hate speech case,” the counsel told HT over phone.
Despite his acquittal, Khan’s disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh assembly will continue as the leader, along with his son Abdullah Azam Khan, was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by a Moradabad court on February 14 this year.
The conviction came in a case of assaulting a public servant in Chhajlet area of Moradabad in 2008.
Khan’s vehicle was stopped by the police for a routine checking, however, it led to a ruckus.
The police then registered a case against nine people, including Azam and his son, under Section 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of IPC among others.
The other seven accused were exonerated in the case.
After Khan’s disqualification from assembly, a bypoll was held in the Rampur Sadar seat. BJP’s Akash Saxena — the complainant in the alleged hate speech case — defeated the Khan’s close aide and SP candidate Asim Raja.
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