New Delhi, July 30 (UNI) The Supreme Court has stayed the Allahabad High Court’s order that had permitted the continuation of criminal trials against Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan, son of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, in two cases pending before the MP/MLA court in Rampur.
A bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on Abdullah’s appeal, which challenges the High Court’s July 23 decision refusing to quash the proceedings.
The High Court had dismissed Abdullah’s petitions seeking to set aside the criminal trials in two
separate cases. One relates to allegations of falsifying his date of birth to obtain a passport, and the other concerns the use of two different PAN cards to allegedly misrepresent facts in his election affidavit.
While rejecting Abdullah’s plea, the High Court had observed, “The instant application is devoid of merits and is liable to be dismissed.”
The first case stems from a complaint lodged on July 30, 2019, by BJP MLA Akash Saxena, who alleged that Abdullah procured a passport by misrepresenting his date of birth.
The passport reportedly mentions September 30, 1990, as his date of birth, whereas his school records indicate January 1, 1993.
The second FIR, also filed by Saxena on December 6, 2019, accuses Abdullah and his father, Azam Khan, of using two separate Permanent Account Numbers (PANs).
It is alleged that Abdullah declared one PAN in his 2017 election affidavit and used another in his income tax filings, thereby concealing facts from the Election Commission.
Charges in the case include forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Both cases are pending before the MP/MLA Special Court in Rampur.
The Supreme Court is expected to take up the matter after the Uttar Pradesh government files its response.
Earlier, in May 2025, the Allahabad High Court had stayed Azam Khan’s conviction in the fake birth certificate case, but declined to stay the conviction of his wife, Tanzeen Fatima, and son, Abdullah. However, both were granted bail after their sentences were suspended.
On October 18, 2023, the MP/MLA court (ACJM-I), Rampur, had sentenced Azam Khan, his wife, and Abdullah Azam to seven years in prison for forgery and other offences.
In a related development, the Supreme Court had dismissed Azam Khan’s plea in July seeking transfer of his hate speech trial from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, where he had alleged tampering of court records and expressed concern over receiving a fair trial.
On February 10, 2025, the apex court had granted bail to Azam Khan and Abdullah in a case related to the alleged theft of a machine.
While granting bail, the court had noted, “Taking into consideration the period of incarceration undergone by the appellants, and that the chargesheet has already been filed, we are inclined to set aside the impugned order and grant bail to the appellants, subject to the terms and conditions which are to the satisfaction of the trial court.”
