Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court, while hearing the transfer application filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Tuesday, issued a notice to the complainant and sought his reply.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh issued the order on a petition filed by the veteran Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and two others. In the plea, Azam Khan demanded that six cases against him be heard by a court in another district, instead of Rampur. The Uttar Pradesh government, meanwhile, filed a counter affidavit on a petition by the SP leader seeking quashing of the FIR registered in another case against him. Along with this, the court accepted another plea to withdraw the first counter affidavit filed by the government pleader.
Earlier, in January, the Supreme Court declined to entertain Azam Khan's plea seeking to transfer certain cases against him from Uttar Pradesh to another state. The apex court asked Khan to approach the high court concerned and directed that his petition be taken up on an an expeditious basis. The SP leader was facing nearly 90 cases including one of hate speech, corruption, and theft. The state Assembly Secretariat, earlier in October, announced Khan's disqualification from the House after a court sentenced him to three years in jail in a hate speech case. The case was registered against 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. Â
—ANI