Rampur: The axe has fallen on the family of former Uttar Pradesh minister and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in the fake birth certificate case. The Special MP/MLA court of Rampur has found Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Khan, and son Abdullah guilty in the two birth certificate cases and sentenced them to seven years' imprisonment. All three were on bail in this case. The special magistrate, Shobhit Bansal, delivered the judgment on Wednesday and instructed the police to take Azam, his wife, and son into custody. They were later sent to Rampur jail.
Both certificates were issued through fraudulent means
Both the certificates were issued through fraudulent means and as part of a pre-planned conspiracy. A first birth certificate, issued on June 28, 2012, by Rampur Nagar Palika, showed Rampur as Abdullah Azam Khan's birthplace.
BJP MLA Akash Saxena had filed a case against Abdullah Azam in 2019
Immediately after the verdict, Azam Khan stated that he would appeal against it in the higher court, and his lawyers would soon decide on the future course of action. Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, in response to the judgment, expressed his support for Azam Khan. He stated that he and the party stand with Azam Khan and believe that Azam’s family will eventually get justice. Akhilesh added, ‘Since Azam belongs to a Muslim community, that's why he is facing this sentence.’
It should be mentioned that BJP legislator Akash Saxena from Rampur had filed a complaint against Abdullah Khan, Azam Khan's son, accusing him of having two separate birth certificates. He alleged that both birth certificates were fake and were used during the nomination filing for the 2022 assembly elections. One birth certificate was issued in Rampur, while the other was obtained from Lucknow, and both had different dates of birth. After hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defense counsel, the court found Azam, his wife Tazeen, and Abdullah guilty and sentenced them to seven years in prison.
The development comes as a fresh setback to Abdullah Azam
The development comes as a fresh setback to Abdullah Azam, who was disqualified as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly earlier this year after being convicted and sentenced to two-year imprisonment in a 15-year-old case.
SC refused to give an interim stay on Abdullah's conviction
The Supreme Court, last week, refused to give an interim stay on Abdullah's conviction in the case. A case was lodged against Abdullah Azam Khan and his parents under sections 420, 467, 468 and 471.
Both were convicted in a 2019 hate speech case
Wednesday’s judgment is yet another case where Azam Khan and his son have been convicted. Both were convicted in a 2019 hate speech case by a court in Rampur. Earlier, Azam Khan and Abdullah had represented the Suar Assembly constituency in Rampur district before being disqualified due to a number of cases against them.
(with IANS inputs)
