Rampur: A Rampur court on Monday sentenced Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his son, former MLA Abdullah Azam, to seven years in prison after finding them guilty in a case involving two PAN cards.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each. Both were taken into custody immediately after the judgment.
BJP MLA Akash Saxena, who had filed the complaint, was present in court during the hearing.
Security was tightened across the court premises as BJP and SP workers gathered in large numbers outside, creating a tense atmosphere in the area.
The ruling is being viewed as a major blow to the SP leader and his son. Azam Khan faces 104 criminal cases, out of which judgments have been delivered in 12.
He has been convicted in seven cases and acquitted in five.
The seven-year term in the PAN card case is among the most severe punishments handed to him so far.
According to Saxena’s complaint to the Civil Lines police, Abdullah Azam’s original PAN card mentioned his birth date as January 1, 1993, which matched his educational documents.
This PAN was used to file income tax returns. However, during the 2017 assembly election nomination from Swar Tanda, Abdullah submitted another PAN card that carried a different date of birth.
Investigators later found that the PAN number in a bank passbook had allegedly been tampered with and overwritten.
Saxena alleged that Abdullah, in conspiracy with his father, procured a second PAN card showing his date of birth as September 30, 1990, to fulfil the age requirement for contesting the election.
The forged PAN card was allegedly used to conceal his ineligibility and secure the benefits of meeting the minimum age limit.
Saxena claimed that Abdullah won the seat by relying on fabricated documents.
Based on the complaint, Civil Lines police registered a case against Azam Khan and Abdullah Azam under IPC sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B.
The verdict brings a significant development in the long-running legal challenges faced by the influential SP family.