Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was on Friday disqualified as MLA of the Rampur Sadar seat, a day after a special court held him guilty in a 2019 hate speech case, news agency PTI reported.
Principal Secretary of the UP Legislative Assembly Pradeep Dubey said that the Secretariat had declared the Rampur Sadar Assembly seat as vacant. Dubey said that a vacancy was declared in the seat following his disqualification after the court judgment.
“We do not disqualify (a sitting member), we only declare vacancy (of the respective seat). Disqualification had already been done by the court order,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
Also Read: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan convicted in 2019 hate speech case, granted bail
On Thursday, a Rampur MP/MLA court had sentenced Khan to three years in prison for a 2019 hate speech case. The court also granted him bail besides providing him time to file his appeal.
The case pertains to an election speech made during an election rally in 2019 levelling allegations against administrative officials posted in Rampur, as well as remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
He was booked in 2019 for making inflammatory speeches while addressing a public meeting in Khatanagaria village of the Milak Kotwali area.
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The Samajwadi Party leader faces nearly 90 cases against him, including theft and corruption charges.