One of self-proclaimed ‘leaders of Muslim Politics’ in Uttar Pradesh, Azam Khan, has been denied bail by the Supreme Court of India. Azam Khan, the Member of Parliament from Rampur is currently languishing in jail. Khan applied for bail in the apex court to campaign for the upcoming assembly polls. The Apex Court has denied bail and directed Khan to approach concerned court with his plea.
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Azam Khan: A Bahubali turned Politician
Azam Khan, a very close ally of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav was also known as his Man Friday. Azam Khan, the Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party, is a nine time MLA. Khan has been one of the most powerful minister in UP from 2012-17.
This time he is contesting again from Rampur Constituency on a Samajwadi Party ticket. Rampur is going into polls in the second phase of UP Elections on 14th March.
Apart from the criminal cases registered against him, he is well known for applying the state machinery to find his buffaloes. He had been named by the district administration in the list of ‘land mafias’. He has also faced backlash due to his misogynistic comments against Jaya Prada.
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Azam Khan denied Bail
Azam Khan is currently a Member of Parliament from Rampur. He has 87 cases registered against him. He has been lodged in Sitapur Jail since February 2020. In 84 out of 87 cases, Khan has been granted bail.
He had knocked the gate of the Apex Court to seek bail in three of the cases left that involve charges of corruption, cheating, forgery, criminal breach of public trust, criminal conspiracy, criminal defamation, tampering of evidence and promoting enemity among others. He is seeking ad-interim ex-parte bail in these aforementioned cases.
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A plea under Article 32
Kapil Sibal, has filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution on the behalf of Khan. The bail plea was heard by a Bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai. The bench denied to grant any kind of relaxation to Khan. On the argument that elections are about to begin and the petitioner needs to participate in Campaign, the bench remarked, “Don’t bring politics to Court.” As well as the Court directed the petitioner to approach the concerned court.
The court recorded, “The petitioner is at liberty to approach the concerned High Court and ask for expedited disposal of the application. Needless to say, the Court shall take into account the concern of the petitioner and dispose of the matter expeditiously.”
Khan’s allegations against Yogi Government
Azam alleged that the UP government has ‘adopted all means available’ to stall the proceedings. Khan alleged that the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath had purportedly delayed the hearing to make sure the he remains incarcerated during the state elections.
This is not the first time that the bail pleas of Khan has been rejected. Earlier, a Special MP/MLA Court had rejected his plea in January 2022. Azam Khan has filed the nominations from jail. And it seems that he will not be able to participate in the election campaign and will have to just watch the ongoing election from within the four walls of the prison. This time he will not have the privilege to campaign in the elections.