Less than two months after his release from Sitapur jail, Samajwadi Party leader Mohammed Azam Khan was sent back to prison on Monday after a court convicted him in a 2019 case for obtaining two PAN cards using different dates of birth. The special MP-MLA court in Rampur also sentenced his son, Abdullah Azam, to seven years in the same case.
After the verdict, Azam Khan was taken to the district jail under heavy security. Speaking briefly, the 77-year-old said, “What is there to say now? It is the court’s decision.” On being asked about the seven-year sentence, he added, “It is fine. If they have considered me guilty, they have given the punishment.”
Special Magistrate Shobhit Bansal delivered the verdict after examining documents and witness statements, while Prosecution Officer Rakesh Kumar Maurya, representing the case along with advocate Swadesh Sharma, confirmed the sentences. Maurya noted that Azam Khan’s jail term would be reduced by the number of days he had already spent in judicial custody for this case.
The 2019 case was filed by BJP leader Akash Saxena at Rampur’s Civil Lines police station under sections of the IPC related to cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. According to the prosecution, Abdullah had obtained a PAN card using the date of birth January 1, 1993, which matched his school certificates and bank records. The court found that Abdullah procured the forged PAN card in conspiracy with his father and submitted it in official records.
Maurya explained that varying prison terms were awarded under different sections of the IPC. Both father and son received three years for cheating under Section 420, seven years under Section 467 for forgery of valuable security, three years under Section 468 for forgery for cheating, two years under Section 471 for using forged documents, and one year under Section 120-B for criminal conspiracy. Each section also included fines, with additional jail time in case of non-payment.
“The seven-year term comes under Section 467, which allows a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The magistrate imposed the maximum term allowed within his jurisdiction,” Maurya said. He added that the prosecution may review the judgment and consider filing an appeal if it feels the punishment is insufficient.
Azam Khan, a veteran SP leader, has faced a total of 84 cases, including charges of land grabbing, graft, intimidation, goat theft, and cheating. He has been convicted in four cases, acquitted in another four, and the rest are still pending.
