Supreme Court of India has issued an interim stay on a trial court's order that directed senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to submit his voice sample as part of the trial in a 2007 hate speech case titled "Mohd Azam Khan vs State of Uttar Pradesh and anr." The case revolves around alleged offensive remarks made by Azam Khan during a public meeting in Rampur in August 2007, targeting a specific community.

The bench, comprised of Justices AS Bopanna and Prashant Kumar Mishra, has additionally sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government regarding Khan's challenge to the trial court's directive. This decision effectively halts the trial court proceedings pending further developments.

Azam Khan's appeal reached the Supreme Court after the Allahabad High Court declined to intervene in the trial court's decision on July 25. Khan's legal team primarily argued that electronic evidence was not certified in accordance with Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act. However, the High Court countered this argument, suggesting that the certification process could be completed at a later stage.

Representing Azam Khan in the Supreme Court were Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, along with advocates Nizam Pasha, Lzafeer Ahmad BF, and Sidharth Kaushik. This legal battle has attracted considerable attention due to the high-profile nature of the parties involved and the broader implications of the case for addressing hate speech issues.

This development follows an acquittal earlier this year in a separate hate speech case against Azam Khan. A local court in Uttar Pradesh overturned a previous verdict from October 2022, which had initially convicted Khan and sentenced him to three years in prison. The series of legal twists and turns have added complexity to the ongoing legal saga surrounding the senior Samajwadi Party leader.