New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan along with two others were sentenced to three years of imprisonment and a fine of Rupees 2,000 in the 2019 hate speech case, reported news agency ANI. "If Azam Khan applies for bail, he can get it. If the imprisonment is longer than 2 years, there is a danger to the MLA post. He's sentenced to 3 years in prison," said SP Pandey, Joint Director Prosecution Incharge, Rampur.
The SP leader was on Thursday convicted by Rampur court in a hate speech case which was filed against him over his comments against Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath in 2019.
A case was registered against Azam Khan in Rampur in April 2019, for allegedly making provocative remarks against the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and the then District Magistrate of Rampur, Aunjaneya Kumar Singh.
Earlier this year, Azam Khan was released from the Sitapur jail after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in an alleged cheating case. The SP leader faces nearly 90 cases, including that of corruption and theft.
Recently, Khan was granted relief in another case as the Allahabad High Court put his arrest on hold. The court also sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh government. A person named Baqur Khan brought the case to the fore.
The matter pertained to the disappearance of machines used for construction in 2017 for which a case was registered on September 19, this year, ANI reported.
The senior SP leader stands to lose his membership in the state assembly if he is sentenced to two years in jail or more in the hate speech case.