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Tag: Azam Khan

  • Senior SP leader Azam Khan sentenced to 7 years in Dungarpur case

    Azam Khan, the senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader, has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the Dungarpur case. Along with Khan, three others – Aale Hasan, Azhar Ahmad Khan, and Barkat Ali – were also convicted and received five-year prison terms. The judgment was delivered by the Rampur MP/MLA court, and the convicted individuals were sentenced under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

    Background of the Case

    The case dates back to 2016 and involves a property dispute in the Dungarpur area of Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareilly district. This marks the fifth case in which Azam Khan has been convicted in the past two years, highlighting a series of legal troubles for the SP leader.Previous ConvictionsAzam Khan and his family have faced multiple convictions in recent years. Last year, Khan, his son Abdullah Azam, and wife Tanzeen Fatima were convicted in a fake birth certificate case. Additionally, Khan has been convicted in cases related to hate speech and blocking traffic.

    Ongoing Legal IssuesCurrently, Azam Khan is serving a sentence in Sitapur jail in another criminal case. The court proceedings were conducted via video conferencing, highlighting the continued legal challenges faced by the veteran politician.

    ImplicationsThe conviction of Azam Khan and others in the Dungarpur case underscores the need for adherence to the law and accountability for actions. It also raises questions about the future of the Samajwadi Party, as one of its senior leaders faces significant legal repercussions.The conviction of Azam Khan in the Dungarpur case adds to his legal troubles and highlights the complexities of the Indian political landscape. As the legal proceedings continue, the case will be closely watched for its impact on the political dynamics in Uttar Pradesh and beyond.

  • WATCH: Big Show’s WWE Theme Song Played During Azam Khan’s Entry In New Zealand Ground

    Stadium DJ plays Big Show’s entry song during Azam Khan’s arrival in the field.

  • Mayawati wonders if there is collusion between BJP and SP after saffron party’s win in Rampur bypoll

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday attributed the defeat of the Samajwadi Party in the recent Rampur bypoll to “planned low voting”, wondering whether there was a collusion between the SP and the BJP.

    The BJP for the first time won from SP leader Azam Khan’s bastion Rampur, which he represented before he was disqualified after his conviction in a hate speech case.

    In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said, “The SP won the bypolls held on Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, but it lost for the first time on the seat held by Azam Khan in the assembly by-election due to planned low voting.”

    “Is it not a result of the internal collusion between the BJP and the SP?” In another tweet, she said, “The Muslim community needs to think and understand this so that in the upcoming elections, it can save itself from getting cheated.

    “There is a lot of suspicion over the defeat of the BJP in the Khatauli assembly bypolls, and this is also a matter to think about.”

    Reacting to her statement, BJP’s newly elected MLA from Rampur Akash Saxena said, “In the Lok Sabha bypolls held in Rampur, the voting percentage was 31.5 per cent, and in the recent assembly by-elections held in Rampur, the voting percentage was 35.So, it is wrong to say that there has been a low voter turnout in the by-election. The polling percentage (in the assembly bypolls) has increased by 3.5 points compared to the Lok Sabha bypolls.”

    UP BJP spokesperson Hero Bajpai rebutted the tweets of the BSP chief and told PTI, “This is simply a figment of her imagination. She is saying all this since the BSP is not contesting the elections, nor it is entering the poll fray. And, I feel that in the upcoming urban local bodies elections and in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, if she continues to watch the match from outside the field, then she will continue to make such baseless remarks.”

    Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha told PTI, “The BSP is working as a B-team of the BJP, and in every election, it makes an effort to transfer its vote to the BJP. However, this did not materialise in these bypolls, and the people rejected the BSP after knowing about its intention.”

    In the recently-concluded by-elections, the Samajwadi Party retained the high-profile Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, while the BJP wrested the Rampur Sadar assembly seat from it.

    The ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh, however, lost Khatauli to Samajwadi Party ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

    Dimple Yadav, the wife of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, defeated her nearest rival and BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya by 2,88,461 votes in Mainpuri, a pocket borough of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family.

    The win provided some solace to Akhilesh Yadav after the defeat in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections early this year and the loss of Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in the bypolls in June.

    Samajwadi Party’s ally Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Madan Bhaiya defeated his BJP rival Rajkumari Saini by a margin of over 22,000 votes in Khatauli.

    Saini is the wife of former BJP MLA Vikram Singh whose disqualification from the state assembly following his conviction in a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case necessitated the by-election.

    Madan Bhaiya polled 97,071 votes, while Saini received 74,996, according to the Election Commission.

    LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday attributed the defeat of the Samajwadi Party in the recent Rampur bypoll to “planned low voting”, wondering whether there was a collusion between the SP and the BJP.

    The BJP for the first time won from SP leader Azam Khan’s bastion Rampur, which he represented before he was disqualified after his conviction in a hate speech case.

    In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said, “The SP won the bypolls held on Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, but it lost for the first time on the seat held by Azam Khan in the assembly by-election due to planned low voting.”

    “Is it not a result of the internal collusion between the BJP and the SP?” In another tweet, she said, “The Muslim community needs to think and understand this so that in the upcoming elections, it can save itself from getting cheated.

    “There is a lot of suspicion over the defeat of the BJP in the Khatauli assembly bypolls, and this is also a matter to think about.”

    Reacting to her statement, BJP’s newly elected MLA from Rampur Akash Saxena said, “In the Lok Sabha bypolls held in Rampur, the voting percentage was 31.5 per cent, and in the recent assembly by-elections held in Rampur, the voting percentage was 35.So, it is wrong to say that there has been a low voter turnout in the by-election. The polling percentage (in the assembly bypolls) has increased by 3.5 points compared to the Lok Sabha bypolls.”

    UP BJP spokesperson Hero Bajpai rebutted the tweets of the BSP chief and told PTI, “This is simply a figment of her imagination. She is saying all this since the BSP is not contesting the elections, nor it is entering the poll fray. And, I feel that in the upcoming urban local bodies elections and in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, if she continues to watch the match from outside the field, then she will continue to make such baseless remarks.”

    Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha told PTI, “The BSP is working as a B-team of the BJP, and in every election, it makes an effort to transfer its vote to the BJP. However, this did not materialise in these bypolls, and the people rejected the BSP after knowing about its intention.”

    In the recently-concluded by-elections, the Samajwadi Party retained the high-profile Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, while the BJP wrested the Rampur Sadar assembly seat from it.

    The ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh, however, lost Khatauli to Samajwadi Party ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

    Dimple Yadav, the wife of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, defeated her nearest rival and BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya by 2,88,461 votes in Mainpuri, a pocket borough of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family.

    The win provided some solace to Akhilesh Yadav after the defeat in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections early this year and the loss of Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in the bypolls in June.

    Samajwadi Party’s ally Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Madan Bhaiya defeated his BJP rival Rajkumari Saini by a margin of over 22,000 votes in Khatauli.

    Saini is the wife of former BJP MLA Vikram Singh whose disqualification from the state assembly following his conviction in a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case necessitated the by-election.

    Madan Bhaiya polled 97,071 votes, while Saini received 74,996, according to the Election Commission.

  • UP: Azam Khan booked for ‘unborn kids’ remarks at Rampur bypoll campaign

    By Online Desk

    RAMPUR: The Uttar Pradesh police on Friday booked Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan over an alleged offensive remark made while campaigning for the bypoll election for the Rampur seat in Uttar Pradesh. A probe has been launched too.

    A woman named Shehnaaz Begum submitted to the police an audio file of the public meeting at Shuta Khana.

    According to the complainant, Azam Khan had in the meeting said, “I was a minister in the last four terms of the SP government and if I would have used the power like this then unborn kids would ask their mothers if they had my permission to take birth.”

    Based on the woman’s complaint, the Ganj police have booked Khan under Section 394(b), 354 A, 353 (A), 504, 505 (2), 509 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act.

    Azam Khan allegedly made the statement while campaigning in support of the SP candidate Asim Raja in the upcoming bypolls of the Rampur Assembly Seat.

    Several women offended by Khan’s statement had lodged a complaint against him with the recorded audio, police said.

    ALSO READ | You will neither become CM, nor be able to make anyone CM: Keshav Maurya to Akhilesh Yadav

    SP chief Akhilesh Yadav who was campaigning along with Azam Khan said, “You get us this seat and you will see that in 2024, the BJP will not be able to save its government.

    ” “This election is not of Rampur alone.

    It is the election to bring the (SP) back in power (in future).

    This is the election for the injustices meted out to Azam Khan.

    “There is SP on one side and on the other side there are those who do injustice, humiliate and lodge fake cases,” he said.

    Rampur will go to polls on December 5 along with Mainpuri, a seat which fell vacant after SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav died on October 10.

    The Rampur Assembly seat had fell vacant after the Rampur District Court sentenced Azam Khan to three years in prison in a 2019 hate speech case over his comments against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He was later granted bail and given a week’s time to appeal against the sentence.

    He eventually lost his Assembly membership since his prison term was longer than two years.

    Azam Khan began his political career by winning the 1980 assembly election on Janata Party (Secular) ticket from Rampur. He has served as a minister in both Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav governments.

    (With ANI inputs)

    RAMPUR: The Uttar Pradesh police on Friday booked Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan over an alleged offensive remark made while campaigning for the bypoll election for the Rampur seat in Uttar Pradesh. A probe has been launched too.

    A woman named Shehnaaz Begum submitted to the police an audio file of the public meeting at Shuta Khana.

    According to the complainant, Azam Khan had in the meeting said, “I was a minister in the last four terms of the SP government and if I would have used the power like this then unborn kids would ask their mothers if they had my permission to take birth.”

    Based on the woman’s complaint, the Ganj police have booked Khan under Section 394(b), 354 A, 353 (A), 504, 505 (2), 509 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act.

    Azam Khan allegedly made the statement while campaigning in support of the SP candidate Asim Raja in the upcoming bypolls of the Rampur Assembly Seat.

    Several women offended by Khan’s statement had lodged a complaint against him with the recorded audio, police said.

    ALSO READ | You will neither become CM, nor be able to make anyone CM: Keshav Maurya to Akhilesh Yadav

    SP chief Akhilesh Yadav who was campaigning along with Azam Khan said, “You get us this seat and you will see that in 2024, the BJP will not be able to save its government.

    ” “This election is not of Rampur alone.

    It is the election to bring the (SP) back in power (in future).

    This is the election for the injustices meted out to Azam Khan.

    “There is SP on one side and on the other side there are those who do injustice, humiliate and lodge fake cases,” he said.

    Rampur will go to polls on December 5 along with Mainpuri, a seat which fell vacant after SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav died on October 10.

    The Rampur Assembly seat had fell vacant after the Rampur District Court sentenced Azam Khan to three years in prison in a 2019 hate speech case over his comments against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He was later granted bail and given a week’s time to appeal against the sentence.

    He eventually lost his Assembly membership since his prison term was longer than two years.

    Azam Khan began his political career by winning the 1980 assembly election on Janata Party (Secular) ticket from Rampur. He has served as a minister in both Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav governments.

    (With ANI inputs)

  • Hate Speech case: Azam Khan gets reprieve, Sessions Court grants bail

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The Rampur Sessions Court, on Tuesday, brought about a big relief to senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, by granting him bail in the 2019 hate speech case in which was convicted and sentenced to a three-year jail term by the local MP/MLA court on October 26.

    Azam’s conviction in the case under Sections 153 A, 505A, and 125 of IPC, had led to his disqualification from the UP State Assembly resulting in the by-poll to Rampur (Sadar) Assembly seat which he has represented in the UP Assembly for nine times.

    Azam Khan, who has been out on interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court in the case, had challenged his conviction and sentence in the sessions court of Rampur. The Supreme Court had granted him interim bail till November 16 and it was later extended till November 22.

    After his disqualification, the Rampur Sadar Assembly seat was declared vacant and bypoll on it will take place on December 5.

    Earlier on November 18, his name was deleted from the voter list in Rampur after a complaint filed by BJP by-poll candidate Akash Saxena. The decision was taken by Rampur Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) after the BJP filed an appeal to have Azam Khan’s name removed from the electoral roll, invoking provisions of the Representation of the People Acts (RPA) of 1950 and 1951.

    Khan, after an incarceration of 27 months in Sitapur jail, was released in May after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in an alleged cheating case. The SP leader is facing 89 criminal cases, including corruption, intimidation, land grabbing and theft.

    Loyalists leave Azam, join saffron bandwagon

    However, while going through the roughest patch in his political and personal life, Azam Khan is facing the exodus of his loyalists from the party in Rampur ahead of bypoll.

    The first shock he received last week was when his close aide and media in-charge Fasahat Ali Khan Shanu left SP to join the saffron brigade. Shanu had once written a letter in his blood to the President of India mentioning how injustice was being meted out to the SP leader who had been fabricated in a series of cases.

    Shanu had also raised a banner of revolt against SP chief Akhilesh Yadav after the UP Assembly elections in 2022 accusing him of not doing much to help Azam Khan who was one of the founding members of the Samajwadi Party.

    Shanu has been followed by Azam’s two more loyalists – Moin Pathan and Asim Aijaz. Both Pathan and Aijaz left SP on Monday night and went on to announce their support for BJP’s by-poll candidate Akash Saxena.

    LUCKNOW: The Rampur Sessions Court, on Tuesday, brought about a big relief to senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, by granting him bail in the 2019 hate speech case in which was convicted and sentenced to a three-year jail term by the local MP/MLA court on October 26.

    Azam’s conviction in the case under Sections 153 A, 505A, and 125 of IPC, had led to his disqualification from the UP State Assembly resulting in the by-poll to Rampur (Sadar) Assembly seat which he has represented in the UP Assembly for nine times.

    Azam Khan, who has been out on interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court in the case, had challenged his conviction and sentence in the sessions court of Rampur. The Supreme Court had granted him interim bail till November 16 and it was later extended till November 22.

    After his disqualification, the Rampur Sadar Assembly seat was declared vacant and bypoll on it will take place on December 5.

    Earlier on November 18, his name was deleted from the voter list in Rampur after a complaint filed by BJP by-poll candidate Akash Saxena. The decision was taken by Rampur Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) after the BJP filed an appeal to have Azam Khan’s name removed from the electoral roll, invoking provisions of the Representation of the People Acts (RPA) of 1950 and 1951.

    Khan, after an incarceration of 27 months in Sitapur jail, was released in May after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in an alleged cheating case. The SP leader is facing 89 criminal cases, including corruption, intimidation, land grabbing and theft.

    Loyalists leave Azam, join saffron bandwagon

    However, while going through the roughest patch in his political and personal life, Azam Khan is facing the exodus of his loyalists from the party in Rampur ahead of bypoll.

    The first shock he received last week was when his close aide and media in-charge Fasahat Ali Khan Shanu left SP to join the saffron brigade. Shanu had once written a letter in his blood to the President of India mentioning how injustice was being meted out to the SP leader who had been fabricated in a series of cases.

    Shanu had also raised a banner of revolt against SP chief Akhilesh Yadav after the UP Assembly elections in 2022 accusing him of not doing much to help Azam Khan who was one of the founding members of the Samajwadi Party.

    Shanu has been followed by Azam’s two more loyalists – Moin Pathan and Asim Aijaz. Both Pathan and Aijaz left SP on Monday night and went on to announce their support for BJP’s by-poll candidate Akash Saxena.

  • Mainpuri, Rampur bypoll: Challenges galore for SP leadership

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: After suffering massive defeats in the 2022 assembly polls and the Gola Gokarannath bypoll, the Samajwadi Party is back to the drawing board as it faces a number of challenges in trying to save its fort in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and the Rampur (Sadar) assembly seat where the bypolls are due on December 5, 2022. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was huddled with the senior party leaders in Lucknow on Monday to decide on the strategy and deliberate over the possible faces to be fielded in the two constituencies.

    Notably, both seats are considered to be bastions of the Samajwadis. The bypoll in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat has been necessitated due to the demise of sitting MP and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav after a prolonged illness on October 10, 2022.

    On the other, SP stalwart Mohammad Azam Khan’s disqualification from the state assembly owing to his conviction in a hate speech case has led to bypoll in Rampur (Sadar) seat which Azam Khan had won 10th time during the UP assembly election in 2022 while being in jail. He had trounced his nearest rival BJP’s Akash Saxena by a huge margin of 55,000 votes.

    On one hand, the SP leadership faces the task of keeping the morale of the cadre high after the Gola drubbing as they have to continue the momentum in Mainpuri and Rampur, on the other, a decision over the faces to be fielded on both sides to match the stature of Mulayam and Azam has to be made.

    “The party, at present, seems cagey about the previous by-poll defeats in its bastions — Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha — at the hands of ruling BJP, in June this year,” says Prof AK Mishra, a prominent political scientist. “While SP’s first family pride would be put to test in Mainpuri which was represented by Mulayam Singh Yadav for five times since 1996 in Lok Sabha, the battle of Rampur Sadar will not be a cakewalk for it as the ruling party has already captured the Lok Sabha constituency,” said Prof Mishra.

    Significantly, Mulayam had a tight grip on Mainpuri where SP remained invincible for the last 22 years. Either Mulayam himself or any member of the Yadav clan have represented it in Parliament.

    “The challenge to retain both the seats is there. If the ruling party succeeds in wresting even one of the two seats from SP, it would be demoralising for the SP supporters and workers ahead of the bigger battle of 2024,” said Prof Mishra.

    As per the highly placed SP sources, Akhilesh held a series of meetings with local leaders of Mainpuri to arrive at a consensus over the candidate for the Lok Sabha seats on Saturday and Sunday.

    The common refrain remained that a family member should be fielded who could take the legacy of ‘Netaji’ forward. “The names of SP chief’s wife and former MP Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav and his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav cropped up during the discussion as front runners who could be entrusted with the responsibility of Mainpuri,” said a senior SP leader seeking anonymity. 

    However, the political experts also stress that Akhilesh needs to take Shivpal along in the scheme of things to be successful.

    In Rampur, the decision on the candidate would be done taking Azam Khan into confidence and giving preference to his choice of candidate in his stronghold.

    The SP is treading cautiously after consecutive defeats in the last three by-polls during which the SP chief kept himself away from campaigning while resting his confidence on party workers and local leaders. He, however, drew brickbats for his strategy after losing both Rampur and Azamgarh LS seats to the BJP.

    In Gola, while the BJP had put the entire battery of Yogi ministers to campaign for the party candidate, the SP campaign was led by state chief Naresh Uttam and Akhilesh had issued only a public appeal seeking support for his candidate. However, in the upcoming bypolls, Akhilesh is expected to hold the command of the party’s campaign as it is the question of saving pride and honour of the two stalwarts. Only time will tell.

    LUCKNOW: After suffering massive defeats in the 2022 assembly polls and the Gola Gokarannath bypoll, the Samajwadi Party is back to the drawing board as it faces a number of challenges in trying to save its fort in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and the Rampur (Sadar) assembly seat where the bypolls are due on December 5, 2022. 
    SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was huddled with the senior party leaders in Lucknow on Monday to decide on the strategy and deliberate over the possible faces to be fielded in the two constituencies.

    Notably, both seats are considered to be bastions of the Samajwadis. The bypoll in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat has been necessitated due to the demise of sitting MP and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav after a prolonged illness on October 10, 2022.

    On the other, SP stalwart Mohammad Azam Khan’s disqualification from the state assembly owing to his conviction in a hate speech case has led to bypoll in Rampur (Sadar) seat which Azam Khan had won 10th time during the UP assembly election in 2022 while being in jail. He had trounced his nearest rival BJP’s Akash Saxena by a huge margin of 55,000 votes.

    On one hand, the SP leadership faces the task of keeping the morale of the cadre high after the Gola drubbing as they have to continue the momentum in Mainpuri and Rampur, on the other, a decision over the faces to be fielded on both sides to match the stature of Mulayam and Azam has to be made.

    “The party, at present, seems cagey about the previous by-poll defeats in its bastions — Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha — at the hands of ruling BJP, in June this year,” says Prof AK Mishra, a prominent political scientist. “While SP’s first family pride would be put to test in Mainpuri which was represented by Mulayam Singh Yadav for five times since 1996 in Lok Sabha, the battle of Rampur Sadar will not be a cakewalk for it as the ruling party has already captured the Lok Sabha constituency,” said Prof Mishra.

    Significantly, Mulayam had a tight grip on Mainpuri where SP remained invincible for the last 22 years. Either Mulayam himself or any member of the Yadav clan have represented it in Parliament.

    “The challenge to retain both the seats is there. If the ruling party succeeds in wresting even one of the two seats from SP, it would be demoralising for the SP supporters and workers ahead of the bigger battle of 2024,” said Prof Mishra.

    As per the highly placed SP sources, Akhilesh held a series of meetings with local leaders of Mainpuri to arrive at a consensus over the candidate for the Lok Sabha seats on Saturday and Sunday.

    The common refrain remained that a family member should be fielded who could take the legacy of ‘Netaji’ forward. “The names of SP chief’s wife and former MP Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav and his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav cropped up during the discussion as front runners who could be entrusted with the responsibility of Mainpuri,” said a senior SP leader seeking anonymity. 

    However, the political experts also stress that Akhilesh needs to take Shivpal along in the scheme of things to be successful.

    In Rampur, the decision on the candidate would be done taking Azam Khan into confidence and giving preference to his choice of candidate in his stronghold.

    The SP is treading cautiously after consecutive defeats in the last three by-polls during which the SP chief kept himself away from campaigning while resting his confidence on party workers and local leaders. He, however, drew brickbats for his strategy after losing both Rampur and Azamgarh LS seats to the BJP.

    In Gola, while the BJP had put the entire battery of Yogi ministers to campaign for the party candidate, the SP campaign was led by state chief Naresh Uttam and Akhilesh had issued only a public appeal seeking support for his candidate. However, in the upcoming bypolls, Akhilesh is expected to hold the command of the party’s campaign as it is the question of saving pride and honour of the two stalwarts. Only time will tell.

  • SC upholds setting aside of 2017 election of Abdullah Azam Khan from UP Assembly

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court setting aside the election of Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan, son of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2017.

    “We have dismissed (the plea),” said a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and B V Nagarathna while pronouncing the verdict on Abdullah Azam’s plea against the high court order.

    The top court had reserved order on the issue on September 20.

    In December 2019, the Allahabad High Court had ruled that Abdullah Azam was not qualified to contest the election as he was below 25 years of age when he filed his nomination papers as the SP candidate from Suar constituency in 2017.

    The case relates to the existence of two birth certificates of Abdullah Azam, who allegedly gave a wrong date of birth while filing his nomination papers for the 2017 poll.

    Rampur BJP leader Akash Saxena had lodged an FIR at Ganj police station on January 3, 2019 alleging fraud in securing two birth certificates with different dates. In April, police had filed the charge sheet in the case.

    Azam Khan and his wife were sent to jail by a Rampur court in Uttar Pradesh for their alleged role in securing a fake birth certificate for Abdullah Azam on the basis of which he had contested the election.

    According to the charge sheet, in one birth certificate, issued by the Rampur municipality, Abdullah Azam’s date of birth was mentioned as January 1, 1993.

    The other certificate said he was born in Lucknow on September 30, 1990. Abdullah Azam had won from Suar assembly in 2017, but was unseated by the high court for being underage.

    He was again elected from the constituency in the assembly polls held in 2022.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court setting aside the election of Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan, son of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2017.

    “We have dismissed (the plea),” said a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and B V Nagarathna while pronouncing the verdict on Abdullah Azam’s plea against the high court order.

    The top court had reserved order on the issue on September 20.

    In December 2019, the Allahabad High Court had ruled that Abdullah Azam was not qualified to contest the election as he was below 25 years of age when he filed his nomination papers as the SP candidate from Suar constituency in 2017.

    The case relates to the existence of two birth certificates of Abdullah Azam, who allegedly gave a wrong date of birth while filing his nomination papers for the 2017 poll.

    Rampur BJP leader Akash Saxena had lodged an FIR at Ganj police station on January 3, 2019 alleging fraud in securing two birth certificates with different dates. In April, police had filed the charge sheet in the case.

    Azam Khan and his wife were sent to jail by a Rampur court in Uttar Pradesh for their alleged role in securing a fake birth certificate for Abdullah Azam on the basis of which he had contested the election.

    According to the charge sheet, in one birth certificate, issued by the Rampur municipality, Abdullah Azam’s date of birth was mentioned as January 1, 1993.

    The other certificate said he was born in Lucknow on September 30, 1990. Abdullah Azam had won from Suar assembly in 2017, but was unseated by the high court for being underage.

    He was again elected from the constituency in the assembly polls held in 2022.

  • ‘Conviction, jail term, disqualification’: End of political road for Azam Khan?

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The political career of Mohammad Azam Khan, one of the senior leaders of the Samajwadi Party, seems to be in for turbulent times in politics following his conviction and three-year jail term in a hate speech case dating back to 2019.

    The conviction followed by the disqualification of the SP leader from the state assembly may be the end of the road for him in electoral politics. Azam Khan, if fails to get a reprieve from higher courts, would not be allowed to contest any election for the next six years from the day of his release from jail after serving the term. It would lead Khan to be away from electoral politics for nine years in all.

    One of the pillars of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s think tank with a tight grip on Muslim votes, especially of western UP, Azam Khan’s influence came in handy for SP-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) alliance in the 2022 Assembly polls as it bagged around 40 seats from the western region of the state.

    Of the five assembly seats of the Rampur parliamentary segment, three were bagged by the SP-RLD alliance. Azam Khan from Rampur and his son Abdullah Azam from Suar Tanda won their respective seats.

    Similarly, in Moradabad, which has over 50 per cent Muslim voters, of the six seats, five went to SP and only one was bagged by the BJP. In Sambhal, another Muslim-dominated constituency, of the four assembly segments, three went to SP and one to the BJP.

    ALSO READ | Azam Khan, son return ‘Y’ category security provided by Yogi govt

    Azam Khan’s conviction and his disqualification from the Assembly came as a major jolt for his party just before the upcoming urban local body polls due this year-end and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    “Azam Khan’s growing age and health condition and criminal cases lodged in abundance against him are set to multiply his problems making his return to active politics difficult,” says Prof SK Dwivedi, former head, of the political science department of Lucknow University.

    The strongman of Rampur, on the wrong side of the age, has been struggling with a number of medical conditions while grappling with hearing in the criminal cases lodged against him in different courts.

    However, as per the SP sources, Azam Khan is in the process of challenging his conviction order delivered by Rampur MP/MLA court in Rampur sessions Court soon. He is consulting the legal luminaries and is likely to move to Sessions Court soon within this week as the MP/MLA court while granting him interim bail had allowed him to challenge his conviction within a week’s time in the higher court.

    LUCKNOW: The political career of Mohammad Azam Khan, one of the senior leaders of the Samajwadi Party, seems to be in for turbulent times in politics following his conviction and three-year jail term in a hate speech case dating back to 2019.

    The conviction followed by the disqualification of the SP leader from the state assembly may be the end of the road for him in electoral politics. Azam Khan, if fails to get a reprieve from higher courts, would not be allowed to contest any election for the next six years from the day of his release from jail after serving the term. It would lead Khan to be away from electoral politics for nine years in all.

    One of the pillars of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s think tank with a tight grip on Muslim votes, especially of western UP, Azam Khan’s influence came in handy for SP-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) alliance in the 2022 Assembly polls as it bagged around 40 seats from the western region of the state.

    Of the five assembly seats of the Rampur parliamentary segment, three were bagged by the SP-RLD alliance. Azam Khan from Rampur and his son Abdullah Azam from Suar Tanda won their respective seats.

    Similarly, in Moradabad, which has over 50 per cent Muslim voters, of the six seats, five went to SP and only one was bagged by the BJP. In Sambhal, another Muslim-dominated constituency, of the four assembly segments, three went to SP and one to the BJP.

    ALSO READ | Azam Khan, son return ‘Y’ category security provided by Yogi govt

    Azam Khan’s conviction and his disqualification from the Assembly came as a major jolt for his party just before the upcoming urban local body polls due this year-end and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    “Azam Khan’s growing age and health condition and criminal cases lodged in abundance against him are set to multiply his problems making his return to active politics difficult,” says Prof SK Dwivedi, former head, of the political science department of Lucknow University.

    The strongman of Rampur, on the wrong side of the age, has been struggling with a number of medical conditions while grappling with hearing in the criminal cases lodged against him in different courts.

    However, as per the SP sources, Azam Khan is in the process of challenging his conviction order delivered by Rampur MP/MLA court in Rampur sessions Court soon. He is consulting the legal luminaries and is likely to move to Sessions Court soon within this week as the MP/MLA court while granting him interim bail had allowed him to challenge his conviction within a week’s time in the higher court.

  • Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan gets three-year jail term in hate speech case; granted bail

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: In a major jolt to senior Samajwadi Party leader and MLA from Rampur, Mohammad Azam Khan, the Rampur MP/MLA court, on Thursday, awarded him a jail term of three years while slapping him with a penalty of Rs 25,000 in a case of hate speech dating back to 2019 general elections.

    However, the court also granted conditional bail to the SP stalwart immediately after pronouncing the quantum of punishment giving him a week’s time to file an appeal against the order in the higher court.

    Azam Khan, 74, was convicted by the court in the case for using objectionable language against persons holding prominent constitutional positions including PM Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and the then Rampur DM Anjaneya Kumar Singh at a public rally during the 2019 general elections.

    Reacting to his conviction and the jail term, Khan said, “I have not lost faith. Not all doors have closed, I will appeal against the order in a higher court. We have already proceeded in this regard and confabulation with lawyers are on.”

    One of the senior most leaders of Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, Azam Khan is set to lose his Assembly membership owing to his conviction and three-year jail term as he faces disqualification as an MLA if he doesn’t challenge the sentence immediately before the High Court.

    The Uttar Pradesh Assembly can also move ahead to disqualify him owing to the existing rule pertaining to a jail sentence of two or more years for a sitting lawmaker in any case.

    The case of hate speech was registered against Khan in Rampur in April 2019. He has been convicted under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between two groups), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) of IPC and Section 125 of the Representation of People Act 1951.

    An FIR was lodged against him after the returning officer had taken cognizance of the matter following the submission of a complaint in this regard.

    During his election campaign in 2019 when Azam Khan was contesting as a joint SP-BSP candidate from Rampur Parliamentary segment and had won, the Samajwadi leader accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of creating an atmosphere across the nation where Muslims found it difficult to exist.

    He was accused of seeking votes on religious lines while using objectionable language against his Congress rival and the then Rampur DM whom he had accused of turning Rampur into hell.

    After Khan’s address, cases were registered against him in a number of police stations and he was accused of inciting communal trouble in Rampur through his election speeches.

    On Thursday, Azam Khan, who was present in the MP/MLA court, was taken into custody after pronouncing him the convict in the case of hate speech.

    Earlier, the court had rejected the plea of the SP leader for deferring the date of pronouncement of the order. He had submitted that as the matter was pending in Allahabad High Court so the date of pronouncement of judgement by MP/MLA court should be postponed.

    The veteran SP leader was released from Sitapur District jail in May, this year after spending around two years in jail following the Supreme Court order granted him interim bail in a case of land grabbing. Azam Khan has been facing 87 cases of different criminal offences.

    However, Azam Khan’s conviction comes a week after the Supreme Court asked the Centre and the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to act tough on hate speeches.

    LUCKNOW: In a major jolt to senior Samajwadi Party leader and MLA from Rampur, Mohammad Azam Khan, the Rampur MP/MLA court, on Thursday, awarded him a jail term of three years while slapping him with a penalty of Rs 25,000 in a case of hate speech dating back to 2019 general elections.

    However, the court also granted conditional bail to the SP stalwart immediately after pronouncing the quantum of punishment giving him a week’s time to file an appeal against the order in the higher court.

    Azam Khan, 74, was convicted by the court in the case for using objectionable language against persons holding prominent constitutional positions including PM Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and the then Rampur DM Anjaneya Kumar Singh at a public rally during the 2019 general elections.

    Reacting to his conviction and the jail term, Khan said, “I have not lost faith. Not all doors have closed, I will appeal against the order in a higher court. We have already proceeded in this regard and confabulation with lawyers are on.”

    One of the senior most leaders of Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, Azam Khan is set to lose his Assembly membership owing to his conviction and three-year jail term as he faces disqualification as an MLA if he doesn’t challenge the sentence immediately before the High Court.

    The Uttar Pradesh Assembly can also move ahead to disqualify him owing to the existing rule pertaining to a jail sentence of two or more years for a sitting lawmaker in any case.

    The case of hate speech was registered against Khan in Rampur in April 2019. He has been convicted under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between two groups), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) of IPC and Section 125 of the Representation of People Act 1951.

    An FIR was lodged against him after the returning officer had taken cognizance of the matter following the submission of a complaint in this regard.

    During his election campaign in 2019 when Azam Khan was contesting as a joint SP-BSP candidate from Rampur Parliamentary segment and had won, the Samajwadi leader accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of creating an atmosphere across the nation where Muslims found it difficult to exist.

    He was accused of seeking votes on religious lines while using objectionable language against his Congress rival and the then Rampur DM whom he had accused of turning Rampur into hell.

    After Khan’s address, cases were registered against him in a number of police stations and he was accused of inciting communal trouble in Rampur through his election speeches.

    On Thursday, Azam Khan, who was present in the MP/MLA court, was taken into custody after pronouncing him the convict in the case of hate speech.

    Earlier, the court had rejected the plea of the SP leader for deferring the date of pronouncement of the order. He had submitted that as the matter was pending in Allahabad High Court so the date of pronouncement of judgement by MP/MLA court should be postponed.

    The veteran SP leader was released from Sitapur District jail in May, this year after spending around two years in jail following the Supreme Court order granted him interim bail in a case of land grabbing. Azam Khan has been facing 87 cases of different criminal offences.

    However, Azam Khan’s conviction comes a week after the Supreme Court asked the Centre and the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to act tough on hate speeches.

  • SC dismisses plea of SP leader Azam Khan in son Abdullah’s fake birth certificate case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday junked a plea filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court refusing to quash the charge sheet in the fake birth certificate case of his son.

    A bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath said it does not find any reason to interfere with the order of the high court.

    Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam Khan were sent to jail in a criminal case registered against them, alleging that Abdullah Khan got two fake birth certificates issued through fraudulent means from two different places.

    In an FIR lodged by BJP leader Akash Saxena at the Ganj police station in Rampur on January 3, 2019, it was alleged that Azam Khan and his wife helped their son obtain two fake dates of birth certificates, one from Lucknow and another from Rampur.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday junked a plea filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court refusing to quash the charge sheet in the fake birth certificate case of his son.

    A bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath said it does not find any reason to interfere with the order of the high court.

    Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam Khan were sent to jail in a criminal case registered against them, alleging that Abdullah Khan got two fake birth certificates issued through fraudulent means from two different places.

    In an FIR lodged by BJP leader Akash Saxena at the Ganj police station in Rampur on January 3, 2019, it was alleged that Azam Khan and his wife helped their son obtain two fake dates of birth certificates, one from Lucknow and another from Rampur.