Relief For Azam Khan As UP Court Acquits Him In Hate Speech Case

SP leader Azam Khan was awarded a three-year sentence by the Rampur court, leading to his disqualification from the UP assembly.

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was acquitted by an Uttar Pradesh court in connection with a 2019 hate speech case. Khan was awarded a three-year sentence, leading to his disqualification as SP MLA from the Rampur Sadar seat.

The veteran leader was convicted in the case last year in October for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

On April 9, 2019, a case was registered against Azam Khan in Rampur for giving a provocative speech against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, other top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and IAS officer Aunjaneya Kumar Singh, the then DM.

Khan was convicted under Sections 153a (promoting enmity between two groups), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code and section 125 of the Representation of People Act 1951.

He then filed an appeal in the MP/MLA court challenging the Rampur court order.

A government counsel in the case said the special court accepted the appeal filed against Khan's sentence.

"We have been acquitted in the hate speech case. We are happy that we have got justice. Our contention that we had been framed in the case has been upheld by the court, and the judgement is in our favour," Khan's counsel Vinod Sharma told PTI.

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After Khan's was disqualified from UP Assembly, a byelection was held in the Rampur Sadar seat. BJP candidate Akash Saxena defeated SP's Asim Raja, a close aide of Khan, in the polls.

The BJP's victory in Rampur, which has a significant Muslim population, was a significant victory. It was the first time BJP won the seat. Azam Khan and his family have been winning it repeatedly since 2002. Between the years 1980 and 1993, Azam Khan won the seat on tickets issued by various parties.

Azam Khan is an influential leader in Rampur and parts of western Uttar Pradesh. Khan has a total of 87 cases registered against him. These charges include a wide array of offenses, including corruption, theft and land grab.