New Delhi, March 1 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on a plea filed by Umar Ansari, son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, in connection with the alleged hate speech case registered against him by Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police during the 2022 Assembly polls.

A Bench presided over by Justice Hrishikesh Roy granted three weeks’ time to Umar Ansari to file a rejoinder affidavit to the reply by the UP government in the matter.

Earlier on January 25, the Bench, also comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, issued a notice and granted interim protection from arrest to Umar Ansari taking note of the submission that other co-accused, including Abbas Ansari, had already been granted regular bail by the trial court.

“Issue notice returnable within a period of four weeks, in the meantime, the petitioner is protected from arrest,” the court had ordered.

In December 2023, the Allahabad High Court rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by Umar Ansari, co-accused in the hate speech case. He allegedly threatened UP government officials with payback at a public meeting in Paharpur area in Mau, during elections.

Mau police, in March 2022 booked the Ansari brothers under Section 171F (offence of undue influence at an election) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC, after a video of the speech went viral on social media.

The Supreme Court in July last year had declined to quash criminal proceedings against Umar Ansari and asked him to apply for discharge before the trial court.

He had contended that he was charged for merely being on the stage when his brother allegedly made the controversial speech in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).