‘No place for hate speech in public service'

Time of India

2 days ago

Varanasi: While pronouncing sentence for Abbas Ansari, SBSP MLA from Mau Sadar who was disqualified from assembly membership on Sunday, chief judicial magistrate (MP-MLA) court of Mau on Saturday had commented there was no place for hate or provocative speech in public service rendered by politicians and that it became more serious when such speech was aimed at influencing election process and officials conducting it.
On Saturday, Abbas was sentenced under five sections of IPC with a maximum imprisonment of two years in the 2022 case of the 'Hisab-Kitab' hate speech incident. CJM (MP-MLA) K P Singh, in his 48-page judgment, commented, "There is no place for hate or inflammatory speech in public service, such as politics. This becomes even more serious when the intention is to directly or indirectly influence elections by causing disorder based on religion.
" The judgment added, "Officials appointed in the district are under direct control of the Election Commission during the model code of conduct. Threatening them with post-election retribution certainly instils fear among voters as well." It further stated, "In a diverse country like India, inflammatory speech harms both, nation and society. Such public representatives, after winning elections, would waste their time teaching lessons to opponents, which has no place in democracy or society and is unacceptable."
CJM further said, "Before determining punishment in a criminal case, it is necessary to consider nature and circumstances of the crime and involvement of the accused. Punishment in criminal cases serves a social purpose. Not only should the convicted realise that they had committed a crime, the victim should also feel justice had been served. Purpose of punishment should be to send a message to society that committing a crime can result in severe penalties.
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The judgment stated, "The accused has a criminal history and several serious criminal records are also associated with his family members. The family of the accused, Abbas Ansari, has held legislative assembly seat of Mau Sadar for nearly 20 years. During his election campaign, Abbas Ansari made a speech from the stage threatening to settle scores with state govt officials after elections, which could have disrupted communal harmony.
Therefore, it does not seem appropriate to give a lesser punishment to the accused."
While contesting 2022 assembly polls from Mau Sadar seat as an SP-SBSP alliance candidate, Abbas had threatened officials from a public meeting dais in Paharpur area on Mar 3, 2022, saying, "After formation of SP-led govt in state, officials will have to give 'hisab-kitab' (account) of their work during the past regime before they are transferred."
Mau police lodged a case in this connection on Mar 4, 2022.
Abbas won the election, but landed in jail following his arrest by the Prayagraj unit of ED in a money laundering case. After staying behind bars since Feb 15, 2023, Abbas was released from Kasganj jail on Mar 21, 2025 after the Supreme Court on Mar 7 granted him conditional bail in a case under the Gangster Act. But, almost two months after coming out of jail, Abbas was sentenced in the hate speech case and also lost his membership from state assembly.
In jail since 2005, his father, late mafia don Mukhtar, a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar, died after being rushed to a hospital from Banda jail, in 2024. While Abbas was being sentenced by CJM court in May, his uncle and SP MP from Ghazipur, Afzal Ansari, was holding a meeting with officials in Ghazipur. He declined any comment on the sentencing of Abbas in the hate speech case on Saturday. Despite repeated efforts, Afzal could not be contacted on Sunday.