Lucknow: Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has secured relief in a 2017 case involving his alleged controversial remark on the Indian Army, but the long list of criminal cases against him across Uttar Pradesh continues to cast a shadow over his political future. The acquittal has eased pressure in one matter, yet it does little to alter the larger legal storm that surrounds the veteran leader.
A special MP MLA magistrate court in Rampur recently cleared Khan of charges filed on the complaint of BJP MLA Akash Saxena, who had accused him of insulting Army personnel and hurting the morale of soldiers. After years of hearings and scrutiny of evidence, the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt, giving Khan a rare legal breather.
But this relief is only one chapter in a far more complex legal saga. Azam Khan still faces around 104 criminal cases, most of them lodged in Rampur, his political stronghold. These include allegations of land grabbing, criminal intimidation and misuse of government land. Many cases relate to accusations of illegal land acquisition for Jauhar University and other properties, with complaints involving encroachment on enemy property, farmers’ fields and government land. Several of these matters are under hearing in lower courts as well as the High Court.
Beyond land disputes, Khan is entangled in cases involving alleged fraud and forgery of official documents, including questionable birth certificates and identity papers linked to his family. Some of these cases have resulted in convictions at trial courts, though appeals are currently pending.
The list of allegations also includes unusual complaints for a senior political figure, such as accusations of theft of goats and buffaloes.