SC declines to entertain Azam Khan’ plea seeking to transfer cases out of UP

NEW DELHI, (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s plea seeking to transfer certain cases against him from Uttar Pradesh to another state.

The Supreme Court asked Azam Khan to approach the concerned High Court and directed that his petition may be taken up on an expeditious basis.

The SP leader is currently facing nearly 90 cases including a case of hate speech, corruption, and theft. The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Secretariat earlier in October announced the disqualification of Khan from the House after a court sentenced him to three years in jail in a hate speech case.

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

During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Khan was booked for making inflammatory speeches while addressing a public meeting in Khatanagaria village of the Milak Kotwali area. A video of Khan’s statement also surfaced on social media. Khan was released from jail earlier this year after the Supreme Court granted him an interim bail in a cheating case. He spent nearly two years in jail.

He had won the Rampur Sadar Assembly seat in the last UP Assembly polls for a record 10th time. After becoming an MLA, he resigned from the Lok Sabha. In June this year, BJP’s Ghanshyam Lodhi wrested the Rampur parliamentary seat from the Samajwadi Party, defeating his nearest rival by over 42,000 votes in a bypoll. (ANI)