Allahabad HC reserves verdict on Abdullah Azam Khan’s plea seeking stay on conviction

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a plea filed by Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan seeking a stay on his conviction by a Moradabad court in a 2008 criminal case.

Justice Rajiv Gupta reserved the order after hearing the counsel for Abdullah Azam Khan and state government’s counsel.

During the hearing, the counsel for the applicant submitted that on the date of the incident the applicant was a juvenile, as such his conviction be stayed by this court.

A criminal case was registered in 2008 against Abdullah Azam Khan and his father and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan at Chhajlet police station in Moradabad under sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

It is alleged that they had blocked traffic after their vehicle was stopped by the police for checking in Moradabad.

The additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) on February 13, 2023 sentenced Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan to two years of imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 each.

Later, they were granted bail after submitting the required surety.

Two days after the conviction and sentence, Abdullah Azam Khan, an SP MLA, was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He represented the Suar assembly constituency of Rampur.