In a major relief to the Samajwadi Party leader Mohamnad Azam Khan, the Special MP-MLA court on Friday acquitted him of charges of defaming the RSS.
Additional District and Sessions Judge II (MP-MLA Court) Alok Verma acquitted Azam Khan citing a lack of concrete evidence.
Outside the court, Azam Khan said, “This is a very honest decision. I thanked the judge.”
The case was filed against the former minister at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow in February 2019 based on an allegation that while in office, he misused his official letterhead and official seal to defame the RSS nationally and internationally. The case dates back to 2014, when the Samajwadi Party was in power in the state.
In 2019, an FIR was filed at the Hazratganj police station by social activist Zameer Naqvi. It stated that six letters issued on Azam Khan’s letterhead in 2014 contained derogatory remarks against the RSS, as well as Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad and his personal secretary, Imran Naqvi. The complainant also alleged that the then chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, Waseem Rizvi, was also involved in this conspiracy to defame the RSS.