The Special Session Court for the trial of MPs/MLAs in Hyderabad's Nampally on Wednesday acquitted All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi in two hate speech cases registered against him in 2012.
Mr. Owaisi, Chandrayangutta MLA and AIMIM floor leader in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, had allegedly delivered the speeches in his public addresses at Nirmal town and Nizamabad town in December, 2012.
For his alleged remarks, he was also arrested the following month and remanded to judicial custody. And after 40 days in prison, he secured conditional bail.
The verdict was initially posted for Tuesday and rescheduled for Wednesday after witness examination of some 74 persons and arguments concluded on April 17.
Mr. Owaisi arrived at the court around 2.20 p.m. and 15 minutes later, the news of his acquittal in the cases was out of the court hall, and he walked out with his security squad in a relaxed manner.
According to M.A. Azeem, counsel for Mr. Owaisi, the Court observed that the evidence was insufficient and the accused was given the benefit of doubt.
AIMIM president and Member of Parliament from Hyderabad constituency Asaduddin Owaisi, elder brother of Akbaruddin Owaisi, took to Twitter to thank the legal team for the assistance.
For his alleged speech at Nirmal, Akbaruddin Owaisi had attracted IPC Sections – 120B, 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295-A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) and 298 r/w 109 (deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any persons).
In Nizamabad’s case, the Crime Investigation Department investigated the charges of 153, 153-A, 188, 295-A, 298, 505 (1) (B) (C), 505 (2) and 506.
Both the cases have now been disposed.
