Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and 10-term MLA from Rampur, Azam Khan, was on Thursday sentenced to three years in jail by an MP-MLA court in Rampur, along with a fine of ₹2,000, in a hate speech case filed against him in 2019 over comments made against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Editorial | Vital intervention: On the Supreme Court order against hate speech
The case was registered against Mr. Khan for making provocative remarks against Mr. Adityanath and then District Magistrate of Rampur, Aunjaneya Kumar Singh at Rampur on April 9, 2019 during the Lok Sabha election campaign. The case was filed under Section 125 of the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951 along with Sections 505 (1) and 153 (A) of the Indian Penal Code.
Mr. Khan was the SP’s candidate from the Rampur parliamentary segment during the 2019 general elections. With the sentencing, Mr. Khan is likely to be disqualified by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly to which he was elected in the 2022 Assembly polls. Mr. Khan is facing over seven dozen cases on charges related to theft, corruption and other issues.
Mr. Khan, a founding member of the SP, is considered the tallest Muslim face in the party, and has served as a Minister in all the governments headed by the late Mulayam Singh Yadav and by Akhilesh Yadav. He was elected as MLA for the first time in 1980 and has also served as a member of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in his political career spanning over four decades.
COMMents
SHARE