Hyderabad: Akbaruddin Owaisi acquitted in hate speech cases

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) floor leader and MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi on Wednesday was acquitted of all charges against him in connection with two hate speeches he allegedly delivered in December 2012 in Nizamabad and Nirmal.

The special sessions court for the trial of MPs/MLAs found the evidence provided by the prosecution insufficient. The cases pertain to Owaisi's controversial speeches delivered in Nizamabad on December 8, 2012 and at Nirmal town on December 22, in the same year. He was arrested in January 2013, however he secured bail after spending a month in prison.

During the hearing, the Chandrayangutta MLA had denied all allegations levelled against him in the said cases. The MLA was charged under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of Indian Penal Code.

The Nirmal police and the Crime Investigation Department (CID) investigated the two cases and submitted the charge sheet in 2016. Forty one witnesses were examined in the Nizamabad case and 33 were examined in the Nirmal case.