Azam Khan not guilty in hate speech case: UP court
Veteran Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan was reportedly acquitted by an Uttar Pradesh (UP) court in a 2019 hate speech case. According to NDTV, the Rampur court overturned a lower court verdict that had found the SP leader guilty of hate speech in 2022. Notably, Khan has a strong following in Rampur and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh.
Why does this story matter?
The veteran SP leader was sentenced to three years in prison by a court, after which he was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh assembly. After that, the SP leader filed an appeal in the MP/MLA court, challenging the court's order. Earlier in May this year, Khan was released on interim bail after spending over two years in jail in an alleged cheating case.
UP court revoked lower court's verdict
Khan's advocate reacts to court's verdict
Advocate Zubair Ahmad, representing Khan in the court, said the SP leader's legal team would decide on future actions. "My client has been acquitted by the additional district and sessions court. He was accused of giving hate speech. The session court has considered the lower court order wrong and said the prosecution couldn't prove its case," Ahmed told The Indian Express.
Earlier order set aside by court on Wednesday
Meanwhile, Additional District Government Counsel (crime) Pratap Singh Maurya stated, "An appeal was filed in the court of the additional district and sessions judge against the conviction order passed on October 27." "The appeal was allowed, and the earlier order was set aside by the honorable court on Wednesday," Maurya further added.
Details on cases against Khan
Reportedly, Khan was convicted under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 505 (statement conducing to public mischief), 153A (promoting enmity between two groups), and Section 125 of the 1951 Representation of People Act. He faces 87 cases against him, with charges ranging from corruption, embezzlement to land grabbing. The cases were filed after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.
Know about Khan's hate speech case
Right before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the 74-year-old was charged with making inflammatory remarks at a public gathering in Milak Kotwali's Khatanagaria village. Khan was booked for making serious allegations against Rampur authorities, Yogi Adityanath, and PM Narendra Modi. In May 2022, the Allahabad High Court separately granted him interim bail in a case linked to the wrongful possession of Waqf Board land.
