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Rampur court refuses to stay Azam Khan’s conviction in 2019 hate speech case
The sessions court heard Azam Khan’s appeal on the direction of the Supreme Court, which had also asked the Election Commission not to issue the bypoll notification for the Rampur Sadar assembly seat till November 10.
The Rampur sessions court on Thursday refused to stay the conviction of senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mohammad Azam Khan in a 2019 hate speech case that led to his disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh assembly last month.
Rejection of Azam Khan’s appeal has paved the way for the Election Commission to conduct the bypoll for the Rampur (Sadar) assembly seat that the SP leader has represented 10 times. The Election Commission will issue the bypoll notification on Friday.
The sessions court heard Azam Khan’s appeal on the direction of the Supreme Court, which had also asked the Election Commission not to issue the bypoll notification for the Rampur Sadar assembly seat till November 10.
The Supreme Court said the bypoll notification can be issued on or after November 11, once the sessions court decides on Khan’s plea.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Rampur court to hear and dispose of Khan’s application on Thursday itself.
The Samajwadi Party leader was convicted by the additional chief judicial magistrate, special MP/MLA court, Rampur, on October 27 in the hate speech case. The court had sentenced him to a three-year prison term.
The next day, the Uttar Pradesh assembly secretariat issued a notice, terminating Azam Khan’s membership of the state assembly and declared the Rampur seat vacant.
On November 5, the Election Commission declared the schedule for the Rampur Sadar assembly bypoll slated for December 5.
However, Azam Khan moved Supreme Court challenging the by-election for Rampur Sadar assembly seat, pleading that his appeal against conviction was pending before the Rampur sessions court.
Appearing in the top court on behalf of Azam Khan, senior advocate P Chidambaram on Wednesday had apprised the court that Khan’s appeal against conviction was scheduled before the sessions court on November 15 but the EC had already announced the Rampur by-election.
Earlier, an FIR was lodged against Azam Khan at the Milak Kotwali police station in Rampur on April 9, 2019 for a provocative speech. The FIR was lodged under sections 153a (promoting enmity between two groups) and 505-1 (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, along with section 125 of the Representation of the People Act 1951.
Khan was booked for making the hate speech while addressing a public meeting in Khatanagaria village of Milak Kotwali area. A video of the speech had gone viral.
Anil Kumar Chauhan, the then incharge of the video monitoring team in Rampur parliamentary constituency, had lodged the FIR.
Khan had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Rampur and won. He vacated his Lok Sabha seat after being elected to the state assembly in March 2022.
