The 88 cases against Azam Khan, the bail fiasco, and what the Supreme Court has to say

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was granted bail on Tuesday but is not released from jail. That’s because the Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a fresh case against him – the 88th – recently.

After the top court had expressed displeasure over the delay in hearing Khan’s bail application, the Allahabad High Court granted Khan bail in a land grab case.

Of the 88 cases registered against him, the 73-year-old has gotten bail in 86. On Tuesday, he got bail in the 87th case but is still behind bars because of the last case filed a few days ago.

The 88th case

Khan, who has been in Sitapur jail since 2020, is facing fresh charges of submitting a forged building certificate to obtain recognition for the Rampur Public School of which he is the chairman, according to a report in ThePrint.

His name reportedly came up during the investigation and has been added to the first information report (FIR). A warrant has been issued against him by an MP-MLA court.

“The warrant has been delivered to him in jail. Now, he will not be released even if he gets bail in the case being heard by the High Court. For him to be released, he would need a bail in this case too,” Rampur Kotwali police station SHO Gajendra Tyagi told ThePrint.

The last case against Khan was filed in March 2020 by an education officer from Rampur for the forged documents used to get recognition for the school. The land on which the school is constructed belongs to UP Sunni Waqf Board. It was transferred to the trust that runs the school during Azam Khan’s tenure as UP Waqf minister, reports ThePrint.

According to a 2016 report in The Times of India, 50 houses were demolished for the construction of the Rampur Public School. The Waqf Board had cancelled the allotment of the holders of the house and issued notices to vacate the premises.

In 2020, the Yogi Adityanath government launched an inquiry into the recognition process of the school, which is under construction. Azam Khan has been named in the case, in which his wife Tanzeem Fatma was earlier accused. The Supreme Court steps in

Khan had moved Supreme Court earlier this month after Allahabad HC reserved its verdict on the bail application.

The top court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file a reply to the plea filed by the SP over the delay in hearing his bail application in a land grabbing case.

A bench comprising justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai, and A S Bopanna asked the state government to file its reply in the case and said it would hear it on Tuesday.

“What is this? Why not let him go. He has been jail since two years. One or two cases is okay but it cannot be in 89 cases. Whenever he gets bail, he is again sent to jail in some other matter. You file a reply. We will hear on Tuesday,” the bench said.

Justice Gavai also observed, “This chain will continue as and when he is released on bail in one matter, tag him in another FIR and keep him behind bars.”

SP vs BJP

Congress leader and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Khan, said this is a worrisome case that requires a detailed hearing.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the UP government, said that a wrong impression was being created and there was substance in each of the cases lodged against Khan.

The top court had earlier expressed displeasure over the delay in hearing Khan’s bail application saying this is a travesty of justice.

“He (Khan) has been out on bail in all matters except one for so long, this is a travesty of justice. We will not say anything more,” the bench had said.

“There are hearings going on in HC and SC, I hope Azam Khan will come out of jail very soon. Since the BJP government is formed in UP, it has been a constant effort of the government to put so much pressure on him that he cannot get out of jail,” said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

There're hearings going on in HC & SC, I hope Azam Khan will come out of jail very soon. Since BJP govt is formed in UP, it has been a constant effort of the govt to put so much pressure on him that he cannot get out of jail: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Azam Khan's interim bail pic.twitter.com/7jQCCJlbjb

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 11, 2022

Khan is a prominent Muslim face in Uttar Pradesh. Despite being in jail, he won the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Rampur and the 2022 state Assembly polls.

With inputs from agencies

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