SC asks EC not to issue Rampur bypoll notification till Nov 10; Azam Khan's plea to be heard on Thursday

SC asks EC not to issue Rampur bypoll notification till Nov 10; Azam Khan's plea to be heard on Thursday

The Supreme Court said the Election Commission can issue the notification for the bypoll on or after November 11 once the sessions court decides on Khan's plea.

Rashmi SharmaUpdated: Wednesday, November 09, 2022, 11:42 PM IST
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SC asks EC not to issue bypoll notification till Nov 10 | Photo: PTI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deferred notification for the by elections of Rampur assembly seat. Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh Ajay Kumar Shukla issued orders in this regard saying notification for bypollof Rampur assembly seat would not be issued till further orders. Earlier the EC had announced that notification for the by elections of vacant Mainpuri parliamentary, Rampur and Khatauli assembly seats would be issued on Thursday November 10. As per the orders of CEO, now only the notification for Mainpuri and Khatauli will be issued. 

He said that this decision has been taken in the wake of instructions issued by the apex court during the hearing of the writ petition Dy.No. 35580/2022 Azam Kham vs ECI and others on November 9. The Supreme Court on Wednesday while hearing this petition said that notification for Rampur be deferred till further orders. The apex court has given 48 hours’ time to Azam Khan to approach MP-MLA court in the Rampur district. Now if the district court stays the conviction in the case of Azam Khan the bypoll would not be held.

Azam Khan's conviction

It may be mentioned that two weeks ago stalwart Samajwadi Party legislator Azam Khan had faced disqualification from UP assembly after he was convicted for three years jail in a hate speech case. The UP assembly speaker had declared Azam Khan’s seat Rampur as vacant on October 28. The election has announced by poll for Rampur assembly seat to be held on December 5.

Hate Speech case

Samajwadi Party leader and two other accused were sentenced to three years in prison along with a fine of Rs 2,000 in a hate speech case filed against him over his speech against state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

However, he was granted bail and given a week's time to appeal against the sentence.

A case was registered against Khan in Rampur in April 2019 for allegedly making provocative remarks against the Uttar Pradesh CM and the then District Magistrate of Rampur, Aunjaneya Kumar Singh.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign, Khan had used provocative remarks against the then Rampur district magistrate Aunjaneya Kumar Singh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress candidate Sanjay Kapoor.

Earlier this year, Azam Khan was released from Sitapur district jail, a day after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in an alleged case of cheating.

The SP leader was also granted bail in a cheating case lodged at the police station in Rampur.

Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February 2020 as many cases are registered against him.

Earlier, in a big relief to the SP leader, the Allahabad High Court on October 1, 2022, had put his arrest on hold. The matter pertains to the disappearance of machines used for construction in 2017 for which a case was registered on September 19, this year.

A person named Baqur Khan brought the case to the fore. The missing machinery including bulldozers, carriers and other materials was later found on the premises of Muhammad Ali Jauhar University. The Allahabad HC also sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh government on this matter.

On May 10, 2022, the Allahabad HC granted interim bail to Khan in a case related to wrongful possession of Waqf Board property.

Azam Khan began his political career by winning the 1980 assembly election on Janata Party (Secular) ticket from Rampur. He has served as a minister in both Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav governments. 

Abdullah Azam Khan's plea rejected

The Supreme Court had on Monday rejected the appeal filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's son Abdullah Azam Khan challenging the Allahabad High Court order which annulled his election as Uttar Pradesh legislator on grounds that he was underage and not qualified to contest the poll in 2017.

The Allahabad High Court had declared the election of Abdullah Khan from the Suar Assembly segment from Rampur district null and void as he was less than 25 years of age. Abdullah Khan was elected as MLA on a Samajwadi Party ticket on March 11, 2017.

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