On Tuesday, the Supreme Court mandated a Moradabad court to resolve the appeal of Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan, son of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, within six months. The appeal concerns a 2008 criminal case where both were implicated in charges of wrongful restraint and assault on a public servant.
Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal presided over the bench, directing the district and sessions court to consider Khan as a juvenile at the time of the offence while adjudicating his appeal against the conviction. The case originated from an incident in 2008 at the Chhajlet Police Station in Moradabad, where it was alleged that Khan and his father obstructed traffic following a police vehicle check.
The apex court’s intervention came after the Allahabad High Court, on April 13, 2023, declined to stay Khan’s conviction, which resulted in his disqualification as an MLA. In February 2023, a Moradabad court had sentenced him to two years in jail.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Khan, highlighted that a trial court report supported Khan’s claim of juvenility. He advocated for the suspension of Khan’s conviction pending the outcome of the appeal. The Supreme Court bench emphasized that while the sessions court was already considering the appeal, it could only ensure that the proceedings were expedited.
On September 26, 2023, the Supreme Court had directed the Moradabad district court to verify Khan’s juvenility claim in line with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. Subsequently, the district judge of Moradabad confirmed the claim, prompting the apex court to instruct the sessions court to treat Khan as a juvenile during the incident in its deliberations.
This directive follows the UP government’s response to Khan’s plea against the high court’s decision, which had described his attempts to stay his conviction as based on “absolutely non-existent grounds”. The high court had also noted that “purity in politics” was essential, referencing the 46 criminal cases pending against Khan.
