HYDERABAD: Investigators who had probed the alleged hate speech cases against AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi had planted eyewitnesses as no one has come forward to support their version, said the Special Sessions Court for the trial of cases against MPs and MLA at Hyderabad while acquitting him on April 13, 2022. The court said that these planted eyewitnesses did not belong to the area where the speeches were delivered and were chosen from the rival party.
Delivering the verdict in both cases, the court said the alleged speeches were not taken seriously by anyone in the country and no untoward incidents took place at both places or anywhere else subsequent to the speech. The court also found no evidence to show that the accused delivered the speech with a malicious intention. The court also questioned the reason for the prolonged delay in registering cases and pointed out that the police could not give any reason to justify this.
The main investigator in the Nizamabad case, while admitting that the offence was cognizable and did not require any permission for registering the crime, “for the reasons best known to him, kept quiet for a long 25 days to register the crime” the court said. He also claimed that he was attending bandobust duty at the place of the meeting and heard the speech.“If really, he had an occasion to hear the disputed speech, he would not have waited for a 25 days to register the crime. No proof is filed to pr-ove that he was on bandobast duty,” the court pointed out.
Further referring to the ‘star witness’ the court observed, “ absolutely, there is no material on rec-ord as to how the IO could sight or recognize these two witnesses as the eyewitnesses to the disputed speech.”In the Nirmal case, the evidence proved that the accused has delivered speech, but th-ere is no acceptable evidence that it was provocative, it said.Further, the then SI Nirmal, who claimed to be an eyewitness, admitted that he understood the speech only after re-ading the translated version.
Ineffective speech
The Court said Akbar’s speeches were not taken seriously by anyone and no untoward incidents took place