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Rampur （Uttar Pradesh）: Samajwadi Party （SP） leader and former Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan received major relief on Tuesday after a Rampur court acquitted him in the 2019 inflammatory speech case, citing lack of evidence and directing action against the investigating officer. The case, filed by then SDM （Sadar） P.P. Tiwari during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, accused Khan of delivering a provocative speech during an election rally at Khatanagariya village under the Milak police station area. He had allegedly made remarks against then District Magistrate Anjaneya Kumar Singh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Congress candidate Sanjay Kapoor, and was accused of calling the Election Commission “corrupt.” The prosecution claimed that his remarks were intended to polarise voters, but the court found no substantial evidence to support the charge. After hearing final arguments from both sides last week, the MP-MLA Magistrate Court on Tuesday ruled that the prosecution failed to establish its case and that the lower court had delivered its earlier verdict “without properly understanding the context of the statement or examining the evidence.” The court also noted that some prosecution witnesses had given statements under pressure and observed that the investigating officer’s role warranted action. In October 2022, a lower court had convicted Khan in the same case, sentencing him to three years in jail and leading to his disqualification from the Assembly. A by-election was subsequently held for the Rampur Sadar seat, which was won by the BJP’s Akash Saxena. Khan had appealed the conviction, and his acquittal on Tuesday effectively overturns the earlier judgment. Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Azam Khan said, “It is rare that an innocent person is proven innocent, given the way the police handled the case. They left no stone unturned to hide the truth. This verdict proves that justice can prevail even against conspiracy and malice.” His counsel, Advocate Zuair Ahmed, described the verdict as “a victory for justice,” asserting that Khan’s speech was part of an election debate, not hate speech. However, despite the acquittal, Azam Khan remains ineligible to contest elections for now, as several other cases against him are still pending in various courts. IANS |
