Supreme Court Grants Interim Relief To Azam Khan; Stays Trial Court Order To Submit Voice Sample In 2007 Hate Speech Case

A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Prashant Kumar Mishra was hearing a plea by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan against a direction to provide his voice sample in a hate speech case, for comparison with a CD-recorded speech he delivered during a public gathering in Rampur in August 2007. Last month, the Allahabad High Court refused tointerfere with this direction by a special judge in Uttar Pradesh.

Yesterday, after Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal pointed out that despite the filing of a special leave petition by the former legislator, the special judge declined to postpone the collection of his voice sample due today. At the appellant's behest, the Supreme Court agreed to urgently hear his plea today.

When the matter was taken up today, the bench promptly issued notice in the petition and gave the legislator protection against having to submit his voice sample in the meantime - 

"Issue notice to respondent. In the meanwhile, there shall be an interim stay on the directions issued by the trial court through the October 2022 order and upheld by the Allahabad High Court in July 2023."

Background

Under challenge is an order by a local court in Uttar Pradesh directing senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan to provide a voice sample in an ongoing trial against the politician in a 2007 hate speech case.

This case stems from a first information report (FIR) lodged in August 2007, on the strength of a complaint by one Dheeraj Kumar Sheel alleging that Khan had made derogatory remarks against former chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and hurt the sentiments of a specific community. Azam was accused of violating the model code of conduct as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) at the time. The case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Although a copy of Khan’s speech was handed over to the police in a CD, attempts to test its veracity were unsuccessful due to a lack of proper documentation and as such, no forensic science laboratory (FSL) report with regard to this CD could be submitted. In October last year, noting this absence, the UP trial court directed Khan to provide his voice sample so that it could be sent along with the audio cassette to the forensic science laboratory.

This led to subsequent legal actions, including an application to recall the order, which was rejected by the trial court in November of last year. Khan then moved the Allahabad High Court in appeal against the trial court’s direction to provide a voice sample.

Last month, the Allahabad High Court declined Khan’s request to set aside the trail court order and directed him to provide his voice sample. Rejecting his plea filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the high court highlighted that his sole legal contention centered on the lack of certification for electronic evidence in terms of Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act. The single-judge bench further pointed out that, in accordance with the law as laid down by the Supreme Court, such certification could also be procured at a later stage as well.

Accordingly, while disposing of the petition, Justice Rajeev Misra, in an order passed on July 25, instructed the lower court to obtain a certification from the individual who recorded the event, verifying the authenticity of the CD as per Section 65B of the Evidence Act. Once certified, Azam Khan is to provide his voice sample, aligning with the court's earlier order.

In May of this year, a sessions court in Rampur overturned Khan's conviction in a separate hate speech case linked to a speech he delivered in 2019. The trial court's initial conviction ruling in this case had resulted in Khan's removal from his position as an MLA representing Rampur. Consequently, a bye-poll was conducted, and it was won by a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate last year.

Case Title

Mohd Azam Khan v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 10108 of 2023