Meerut, July 19 -- Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan suffered a legal setback on Saturday after the MP-MLA Special Court (Sessions Trial) in Rampur dismissed his appeal against a two-year prison sentence awarded by a lower court in connection with a controversial speech made during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign. The court upheld the judgment of the MP-MLA Special Court (Magistrate Trial), affirming both Khan's conviction and the sentence of two years' imprisonment along with the monetary penalty imposed by the trial court. The case stems from the 2019 LS polls, when Khan addressed a public meeting at Mankara village in Rampur. During the rally, Khan allegedly made a controversial remark from the stage, referring to a government official as a "tanakhaiya" (a salaried subordinate). The district administration viewed the statement as a violation of the poll code which was in force then. Following the speech, the then SDM Ghanshyam Tripathi lodged a complaint, based on which an FIR was registered at Bhot police station. The matter was tried before the MP-MLA Special Court (Magistrate Trial). After examining the evidence and hearing the parties, the court on May 16, 2026, convicted Azam Khan. It sentenced him to two years' imprisonment under each applicable section and imposed a fine of Rs.5,000 under each section. Khan challenged the verdict before the MP-MLA Special Court (Sessions Trial), seeking to have the judgment set aside. Pronouncing its judgment on Saturday, the court dismissed Khan's appeal, holding that the findings and order of the trial court were legally justified. As a result, the two-year jail term and the fines imposed by the lower court remain in force. htc...