The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond within four weeks to a petition seeking the prosecution of Chief Minister Adityanath for an alleged hate speech he delivered in 2007, reported ANI.

The petition has challenged the Allahabad High Court’s decision to uphold the state’s decision to refuse permission to prosecute Adityanath, reported the Hindustan Times.

Adityanath was a Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur in 2007 when he gave a speech outside the town’s railway station that was allegedly inflammatory and seen as inciting communal violence.

On January 27, 2007, the Kotwali Police registered a First Information Report against Adityanath and several others for allegedly promoting enmity between two groups of people. After the Bharatiya Janata Party leader was arrested on the basis of the complaint, members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini – a group Adityanath founded – ransacked public property and torched a train compartment.

Later, another FIR was filed against Adityanath for allegedly inciting communal riots through hate speeches.

In February this year, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a petition seeking an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into Adityanath’s alleged role in the riots.