The Supreme Court is set to hear a petition by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Wednesday. Khan is challenging a trial court order from Uttar Pradesh that directed him to provide a voice sample in connection with a hate speech case. This move comes after Khan approached the apex court, contesting the decision made by the Allahabad High Court on July 25, which declined to intervene with the trial court’s directive.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal presented the petition before a bench consisting of Justices AS Bopanna and SVN Bhatti, seeking an urgent listing. Sibal emphasized that despite informing the Special MP/MLA Court at Rampur about the Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, the trial judge did not postpone the collection of the voice sample. Initially, Justice Bopanna agreed to schedule the matter for August 25. However, after Sibal highlighted that the case is slated for hearing at the trial court the next day, Justice Bopanna consented to hear it on Wednesday.
The voice sample in question is intended to verify the authenticity of a speech by Khan, captured in a CD. The case revolves around allegations that Khan’s speech, delivered at a public gathering in Rampur in August 2007, was derogatory towards a specific community.
While dismissing Khan’s petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the High Court observed that Khan’s sole legal contention was that the electronic evidence wasn’t certified as per Section 65B of the.The High Court pointed out, referencing a Supreme Court precedent, that such a certificate could be procured at a later stage.
“Considering the above, this application is disposed of finally with a direction that the court below shall obtain a certificate from Sanjay (proprietor of Pooja Cassette Centre), who recorded the entire event that occurred on 07.08.2007 and thereafter handed over the cassette to Mr. Gulab Rai, (the then Naib Tehsildar), in terms of Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act. After such a certificate has been submitted in court by Sanjay, the applicant shall give his voice sample as directed vide order dated 29.10.2022,”
stated Justice Rajeev Misra in the order issued on July 25.
It’s noteworthy that earlier in May, the Rampur Sessions Court had overturned Khan’s conviction in another hate speech case related to a 2019 speech. The verdict from the trial court in the 2019 case had resulted in Khan’s disqualification as an MLA from Rampur, leading to a subsequent bye-poll, which was clinched by a BJP candidate the following year. The case in question is titled
“Mohd Azam Khan v. State of Uttar Pradesh SLP (Crl) 10108/2023.”
