The sessions court ordered a fresh trial against Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi and four others in a case related to a provocative speech he had made in 2000.
Mazgoan magistrate’s court in the city had sentenced Azmi and four others to two years’ rigorous imprisonment in May 2012. The accused then filed an appeal in the sessions court.
“The appeal is allowed and the order of the magistrate’s court is set aside,” said the sessions court judge D K Mulla while ordering a fresh trial. The magistrate shall conclude the trial in six months, the judge added.
The defence lawyers had argued that some of the witnesses had not been cross-examined.
The other accused are Wakrunissa Ansari, Ahsanulla Khan, Alimiya Shamshi and L D Singh.
The case relates to a rally at Byculla in central Mumbai in February 2000 where Azmi had made some communal and provocative statements. The accused were out on bail after the conviction.
