2007 'hate speech' case: 'Why Adityanath should not be prosecuted,' asks SC

New Delhi, Aug 20: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government in connection with an alleged hate speech delivered by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in 2007.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra has given the Uttar Pradesh government four weeks to respond to the summons.

In the notice, the apex court asked the state government to reply as to why he should not be prosecuted for allegedly giving a hate speech in 2007.

In 2008, two persons - Asad Hyat and Pervez - had filed a petition in Allahabad High Court seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It was alleged that the riots in Gorakhpur in 2007 were triggered by the speech of Yogi Adityanath.

The petition had sought an investigation against Adityanath under sections 302, 307, 153A, 395 and 295 of the Indian Penal Code. The case was then transferred to the CB-CID, which found in the course of investigation that the BJP leader's voice in an audio recording was authentic.