LUCKNOW: Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam are likely to be released from Rampur jail on Saturday after the Allahabad High Court suspended their seven-year sentences in the dual PAN card case.
The court, however, declined to stay their convictions, meaning both will remain disqualified from contesting elections. Jail authorities said they were yet to receive the formal release orders.
In November last year, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Shobhit Bansal of a Rampur court convicted Azam and Abdullah under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and sentenced them to seven years in prison in a case involving forgery, cheating, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy.
The case stemmed from a 2019 FIR filed by BJP leader and now Rampur MLA Akash Saxena, who alleged that Abdullah used two PAN cards with different dates of birth to secure undue benefits. According to the prosecution, Abdullah had obtained a PAN card showing his date of birth as January 1, 1993, matching his school records. It was used for banking transactions and filing income-tax returns.
While granting bail, the High Court noted that Azam had been convicted in eight cases, with appeals against two convictions already dismissed. Abdullah had been convicted in four cases.
Azam's counsel, Nizam Pasha, said both would be released from Rampur jail. He added that Azam would have to be produced before a court again on November 2 as police had sought his remand in an Enforcement Directorate-related case in which Abdullah was not named.
Pasha said Azam had secured bail in all cases against him, including those in which he had been sentenced. However, Rampur Jail Superintendent Rajesh Yadav said the prison had not yet received any release warrant or related documents from the courts.
Azam Khan’s convictions
2026
May 16: Azam Khan was sentenced to two years in prison in a case related to his alleged “cleaning shoes” objectionable remark against government officials, including the then Collector-cum-District Magistrate, during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.
2025
November 17: Azam Khan and his son Abdullah were convicted by a special MP/MLA court in Rampur in the dual PAN card forgery case.
2024
March 18: Azam Khan was sentenced to seven years in prison in connection with a case of trespass and vandalism at a house in Rampur in 2016.
2023
October 18: Azam Khan, his son Abdullah and wife Tanzeen Fatima were convicted by a Rampur MP/MLA court and sentenced to seven years in prison in the fake birth certificate case.
July 15: Azam was sentenced to two years in prison in a hate speech case registered during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.
February 14: A Moradabad court sentenced Azam and Abdullah to two years in prison in a 15-year-old case involving the blocking of traffic after police stopped their vehicle for checking.
2022
October 28: A Rampur court sentenced Azam to three years in prison in another hate speech case linked to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The case involved the alleged use of objectionable words against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and others.