Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan disqualified as MLA after conviction in a hate speech case
In a setback to Samajwadi Party, senior party leader MLA Mohammad Azam Khan was disqualified from membership of UP Legislative AssemblyUttar Pradesh after a conviction in a hate speech case.
An MP-MLA court in Rampur on Thursday held Azam Khan guilty of giving a provocative speech against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then District Magistrate of Rampur and sentenced him to three years imprisonment along with a penalty of Rs 25,000.
The MP-MLA court of ACJM-First Nishant Man later granted bail to Azam and gave him one week time to appeal in the higher court. Mr. Azam was accused of making indecent comments against PM Modi and the then DM during an election rally in Milak during the Lok Sabha polls.
Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) Anil Kumar Chauhan lodged an FIR against Azam in this connection at Milak police station in 2019. At that time ADO Chauhan was posted as the in-charge of the video monitoring section. It may be mentioned that initially Lok Sabha member, Azam Khan resigned from the lower house after being elected to the UP assembly.
Mohammad Azam Khan is from Rampur Sadar seat Mohammad Azam Khan was on Friday disqualified from the membership of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly after being convicted by a Rampur court in a hate speech case, officials sources said. Principal Secretary Vidhan Sabha Pradeep Kumar Dubey confirmed the development and said that Rampur Sadar seat has been declared vacant.
Now a by-election will be held on this seat again. If Azam Khan gets a stay order from the higher court against his conviction, his disqualification would not be revoked but he would be able to contest the by-election from Rampur, say legal experts.