A significant development emerged from the Supreme Court chambers on Wednesday, as it intervened to suspend a trial court's directive compelling Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to provide a voice sample. This step pertains to a case dating back to 2007, involving alleged hate speech and derogatory remarks against BSP chief Mayawati.
The contested voice sample aims to be compared with Khan's recorded speech from a public gathering in Rampur's Tanda area, archived on a CD. Justices A S Bopanna and P K Mishra presided over the bench and promptly issued notices to both the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant in question in response to Khan's plea, as PTI reported.
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The bench articulated, "Notice to the respondent. In the meanwhile, there shall be an interim stay of the direction of the trial court order dated October 29, 2022, and upheld by the high court dated July 25, 2023."
At the heart of the matter lies Khan's challenge against the Allahabad High Court's verdict on July 25, 2023, which sustained the trial court's ruling in Rampur. The original complaint, lodged by Dheeraj Kumar Sheel in 2007, accused Khan of delivering a hate-fueled speech and utilizing derogatory language against the then chief minister, Mayawati.
The charges against Khan stem from a multi-faceted legal framework, encompassing Indian Penal Code sections 504 (intentional insult to provoke peace breach) and 171-G (false statement related to elections). Additionally, the police invoked section 125 of the Representation of Peoples Act and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
