Prayagraj, Oct. 29 -- The Allahabad High Court has granted relief to senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam by suspending their sentences in a case involving possession of two PAN cards and granting them bail.
A single-judge bench of Justice Samit Gopal passed the order after reserving its verdict following arguments from both sides. However, the court rejected their plea for a stay on their conviction.
Azam Khan and Abdullah had filed criminal revision petitions challenging their conviction and sentences awarded by the trial court. They sought interim relief, including suspension of their sentences and bail, pending the final disposal of their petitions.
Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and N.I. Jafri, along with advocate Shashwat Anand, represented Azam Khan and his son. The state government was represented by senior advocate and Additional Advocate General Anoop Trivedi.
According to the prosecution, the two were accused of obtaining and using separate PAN cards bearing different dates of birth. They were also accused of allegedly using the disputed PAN cards in election nomination papers.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.