Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has been sentenced to two years in jail for making objectionable remarks against government officials during the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign, raising questions about free speech and accountability.
A court in this Uttar Pradesh district sentenced Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan to two years of imprisonment on Saturday in a case related to objectionable remarks made against government officials during the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign.
The court also imposed a fine on Khan, who appeared before it through video-conferencing from the Rampur jail, where he is currently lodged in connection with another case, prosecution officials said.
The case pertains to a speech delivered by Khan during an election rally in the Mankara area within the Bhot police station limits in 2019, when he was contesting the polls from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat as the candidate of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance.
According to the prosecution, Khan made objectionable remarks against government officials, including the then district magistrate of Rampur, Anjaneya Kumar Singh, from the public meeting. The speech was later circulated on social media and alleged to have violated the Model Code of Conduct.
A case was registered on May 11, 2019, on a complaint from the then sub-divisional magistrate and assistant returning officer Ghanshyam Tripathi. The case was initially lodged at the Civil Lines police station and later, transferred to the Bhot police station after the place of occurrence was verified during investigation.
Senior prosecution officer Rakesh Kumar Maurya said the court examined 10 prosecution witnesses before convicting Khan.
He said the court sentenced Khan to two years in jail after finding him guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups), 153(B) (imputations prejudicial to national integration) and 505(2) (statements promoting hatred or ill-will between classes), besides convicting him under section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, related to election offences.
Maurya said the remarks were not directed at any individual Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer personally, adding that the expression used in the speech broadly referred to salaried government officials.
Khan's lawyer Nasir Sultan said an appeal would be filed against the verdict.
The case is considered significant in view of a series of legal proceedings initiated against Khan in recent years. According to police records, several cases were registered against the former Uttar Pradesh minister after 2017, including a large number of cases in 2019 alone.
Khan, a 10-time former MLA from Rampur Sadar and a prominent Muslim face of the SP, has faced charges ranging from land grabbing and trespass to hate speech and intimidation in different cases. He has secured relief in some matters after appeals and bail orders, while he has been acquitted in certain cases.