The MP/MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district on Thursday sentenced Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to three years in prison and imposed a fine of ₹2,000 in connection with a hate speech case against chief minister Yogi Adityanath dating back to 2019.
Khan was present in the court when additional chief judicial magistrate Nishant Maan pronounced the verdict. With this conviction, the Rampur MLA is highly likely to lose his Vidhan Sabha membership. The court also granted him bail at the same time.
“This was the maximum punishment in this case and bail was a mandatory provision,” Khan told media persons outside the court.
The SP leader was accused of resorting to hate speech against Adityanath and the then Rampur district magistrate Anjani Kumar Singh while campaigning for the 2019 general elections.
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An FIR was lodged based on a complaint by BJP leader Akash Saxena in Rampur on April 9, 2019, for provocative speech under sections 153a (promoting enmity between two groups) and 505-1 (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, and section 125 of the Representation of People Act 1951.
{{/usCountry}}An FIR was lodged based on a complaint by BJP leader Akash Saxena in Rampur on April 9, 2019, for provocative speech under sections 153a (promoting enmity between two groups) and 505-1 (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, and section 125 of the Representation of People Act 1951.
{{/usCountry}}Khan is a nine-term MLA from Rampur since 1980. He won the last assembly election from the Sitapur prison.