Defer Rampur by-election notification: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has directed the EC to defer notification for the byelection to the Rampur assembly seat till Friday, to allow disposal of SP leader Azam Khan's plea for stay on his conviction.

A bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud and justices Hima Kohli and JB Pardiwala also directed the Rampur court to hear and dispose of Khan's plea on Thursday itself.

SC was critical of the speed with which Khan's disqualification proceedings were done by the UP assembly secretariat.

"Defer it for three days, else it seems like what is being done is because of the political affiliation of the accused and that is not even handedness," the CJI verbally remarked

Khan was convicted in a 2019 hate speech case and disqualified by the UP assembly secretariat as he was sentenced to three years jail.