In a relief to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, a Rampur court on Wednesday overturned the three-year sentence awarded to him by a lower court in a 2019 hate speech case.
The case was registered against Azam Khan at Milak Kotwali in Rampur on April 9, 2019, for allegedly making provocative remarks against Yogi Adityanath and IAS Aunjaneya Kumar Singh, the then DM, under sections 153a (promoting enmity between two groups), 505-1 (statement conducing to public mischief) of IPC along with sections 125 of the Representation of People Act 1951.
An MP-MLA magistrate court had on October 27, 2022 sentenced Khan, the then SP MLA from the Rampur Sadar seat, in the case. Following this, Khan was disqualified as an MLA. A government counsel in the case said the special court accepted the appeal filed against Khan's sentence.
Commenting on the charges, Khan had then said that the UP government was relentlessly registering cases against him to ensure he stays in prison. He further alleged that the BJP government is creating an environment in a country where it's becoming difficult for Muslims to exist.
Khan's conviction came a week after the Supreme Court sought a response from the Centre and the states to a plea seeking directions for taking appropriate steps to stop hate speeches against the Muslim community.
Holding that the Constitution of India envisages a secular nation, the apex court directed Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to come down hard on hate speeches, promptly registering criminal cases against the culprits without waiting for a complaint to be filed.
Today, Khan's counsel Vinod Sharma said, "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," Sharma added.
After Khan's membership to the assembly was disqualified, a by-election was held in the Rampur Sadar seat. BJP candidate Akash Saxena defeated the SP's Asim Raja, a close aide of Khan, in the polls.
According to reports, as many as 81 cases have been registered against Khan in Rampur on various charges, including land-grabbing, cheating and criminal trespass, ever since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.
(With inputs from PTI)
