The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea filed by former Uttar Pradesh MLA Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan challenging an Allahabad High Court order that refused to quash criminal proceedings against him in a case involving alleged use of fake documents to obtain a passport.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma declined to interfere with the High Court’s July 23 order, observing that the trial had already concluded and was at the stage of final arguments.
“Let the trial court decide it. Have faith in the trial court. Let it be decided by the trial court. Why should we interfere now when the trial is already over,” the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented Khan.
The court clarified that the trial court would be free to decide the case independently, without being influenced by any observations made by the High Court.
Abdullah Azam Khan, son of senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, was booked in Rampur in July 2019 after an FIR alleged that he had procured his passport using forged documents. The FIR claimed a discrepancy in his date of birth — January 1, 1993 in his school records but September 30, 1990 in his passport.
A chargesheet was filed under Sections 420 (cheating) and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Section 12(1A) of the Passport Act.
Khan had approached the Allahabad High Court seeking to quash the case, invoking the principle of double jeopardy. His counsel argued that he was already facing another case concerning the alleged fake birth certificate and that both cases were based on the same set of facts.
However, the High Court rejected this contention, holding that the petition was “devoid of merits” and directed the trial court to proceed with the case.
The Supreme Court had earlier, on July 29, issued notice on Khan’s petition and allowed the trial to continue but directed that no final judgment be pronounced until further orders.
During Thursday’s hearing, Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, informed the bench that the trial was over and the case was listed for arguments. He argued that forging different documents at different times constituted distinct offences, and therefore, the principle of double jeopardy did not apply.
With Thursday’s dismissal, the trial court in Rampur will now be free to deliver its verdict in the matter.
