Azam Khan, son Abdullah convicted; sentenced to jail for 7 years in dual PAN card case

Rampur (UP), Nov 17 (PTI) Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mohammad Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam were on Monday convicted and sentenced to jail terms of up to seven years by a special MP/MLA court here in a 2019 case related to obtaining two PAN cards using different dates of birth, a prosecution officer said.

Azam Khan, son Abdullah were sent to jail after the Rampur MP/MLA court convicted and sentenced them in the dual PAN card case.

Delivering the verdict, Special Magistrate (MP/MLA Court) Shobhit Bansal held both father and son guilty after examining documentary evidence and witness testimonies, Prosecution Officer Rakesh Kumar Maurya told reporters.

Maurya also said the prosecution would review the judgment and may consider filing an appeal if it feels the punishment is inadequate.

Asked whether Azam Khan and Abdullah would be taken into custody following the conviction, Maurya responded, "Yes, absolutely".

Maurya also said the prosecution would review the judgment and may consider filing an appeal if it feels the punishment is inadequate.

The case was lodged in 2019 at Rampur's Civil Lines police station by BJP leader Akash Saxena under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using forged document) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

According to the prosecution, Abdullah obtained a PAN card from the Income Tax Department mentioning January 1, 1993 as his date of birth, which matched the date in his school and High School certificates.

The same date was also used in the records of his State Bank of India account operated by him.

The court held that Abdullah had procured the forged PAN card "in conspiracy with his father" and submitted it in official records.

Azam Khan, a founding member of the Samajwadi Party (SP), walked out of Sitapur Jail on September 23 after nearly 23 months of incarceration.

BJP leader Akash Saxena had filed a case against Abdullah in Rampur on July 30, 2019, alleging fraud and violation of the Passport Act for allegedly obtaining the travel document using an incorrect date of birth.

According to the complaint, Abdullah was issued a passport on January 10, 2018. The passport lists the date of birth as September 30, 1990 but his educational certificates say January 1, 1993.

Saxena also filed an FIR against Abdullah and Azam Khan in the Civil Lines police station in Rampur on December 6, 2019.

He alleged that Abdullah had furnished an incorrect PAN number in his election affidavit during the 2017 assembly elections.

Saxena also accused Azam Khan of being a "fraudster" and a "liar", claiming that the senior SP leader got two PAN cards made for his son through fraudulent means to enable him to contest elections.

According to him, Abdullah allegedly concealed this fact in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI). He showed one PAN number in the affidavit, but used another number in his income tax return documents. PTI COR KIS KSS KSS KSS