Supreme Court directs EC to defer notification on Rampur assembly, sessions court to hear Azam Khan plea tomorrow

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Rampur's Sessions court to take up Azam Khan's application seeking a stay on conviction in the hate speech case on November 10 and disposed of it on the same day.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and justices Hima Kohli and JB Pardiwala also directed the election commission that the issuance of gazette notification for declaring the election schedule shall be issued on or after November 11 depending upon the outcome of the application on stay of conviction. The court was hearing a plea filed by Azam Khan challenging his recent disqualification from the UP Assembly on the basis of a conviction for promoting enmity between two groups.

During the hearing, the court noted that Azam Khan was granted interim bail by the Sessions Court in Rampur in Uttar Pradesh and his plea seeking a stay on conviction has been listed for November 15. The court hence directed the sessions court to prepone the hearing on his application seeking a stay on conviction and decide it on the same day.
The court said that it has directed the session court to prepone the hearing on his application seeking a stay on conviction in order to enable the petitioner to have a fair opportunity to move sessions court.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for the Election Commission, that it will not be able to defer for issuing election notifications not just for practice but also for constitutional reasons.
During the hearing, the court also noted that disqualification is a result of conviction and so when the conviction has stayed then there will be no disqualification and the seat does not fall vacant.

The court also noted a delay in disqualifying MLAs from Khatauli assembly seats and remarked that the poll panel could not pick and choose people. Vikram Singh Saini, a legislator of Khatauli was declared disqualified a few days ago but the court convicted him on October 11.
Azam Khan was disqualified from membership of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly On October 28, a day after he was sentenced to 3 years in prison along with a fine of Rs 2,000 in a hate speech case of 2019. (ANI)