With 3-year jail term for hate speech, Azam Khan faces disqualification from UP Assembly

Bareilly: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was convicted on Thursday (October 27, 2022) in a hate speech case and sent to three years in jail by a Rampur court, and faces disqualification from the state assembly. The MP-MLA court in Rampur has granted bail to the MLA in the 2019 case, government lawyer Ajay Tiwari said. The Representation of the People Act says that anyone sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified "from the date of such conviction" and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time. The Speaker can start the disqualification proceedings either suo motu or after receiving an application. According to the government counsel, the Election Commission could also take a decision on this.

The Rampur MLA was booked in April 2019 for making inflammatory remarks at an election meeting in the district's Khatanagaria village. The speech went viral on social media.

He had levelled allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and local officials.

The Rampur court convicted Khan under section 153-A (inciting religious feelings) and 505-A (making a false statement intended to create feelings of hatred or animosity) under the Indian Penal Code.

He was also found guilty under section 125 (promoting animosity between different classes) of the Representation of the People Act.

The court sentenced him to three years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on him, advocate Tiwari said.

Khan could file an appeal against the sentence in the Rampur district and sessions court, he told PTI.

Emerging from the court after the verdict, Khan said bail is a mandatory provision of the law. "I have firm belief in justice," he told reporters.

Khan was released from jail earlier this year after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in a case of cheating. He had then spent about two years in jail.

The SP leader faces nearly 90 cases, including that of corruption and theft.

The veteran politician won the Rampur Sadar assembly seat in the recent UP Assembly polls for a record 10th time. He then gave up the Rampur parliamentary seat, which he won in 2019.

There was a large security deployment outside the court and in other Rampur areas on Thursday, as the court pronounced the sentence.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya welcomed the court order, saying those in public life should maintain decorum in their language while speaking against opponents.

"Azam Khan's political history is known for making poisonous speeches against the BJP and society," he tweeted.

SP national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said the party would comment after seeing the court order. He, however, accused the ruling BJP of doing "injustice" to Khan in the earlier cases against him.

'While all hate mongers are roaming free...': BSP MP voices support for Azam Khan

BSP MP Danish Ali on Thursday voiced support for Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who has been convicted in a 2019 hate speech case, saying that while all hate mongers are roaming free, "Azams" will be convicted and thrown out of legislatures.

Reacting to the development, Ali said, "Two operations seems to be running parallel in India - 'Opposition Mukt Bharat' and 'Muslim Mukt legislature'. Three-year jail for Azam Khan is a mockery of justice."

"While all hate mongers are roaming free, 'Azams' will be convicted and thrown out of legislatures," the BSP MP from Amroha said.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on Rampur MLA Khan, advocate Ajay Tiwari said.

The case was registered against Khan in Rampur in April 2019 for levelling serious allegations against administrative officials posted in Rampur and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during an election meeting.