Allahabad HC gives relief to Azam Khan, puts arrest on hold

In a big relief to Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, the Allahabad High Court on Friday put his arrest on hold. The court also sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh Government.

A person named Baqur Khan brought the case to the fore. The matter pertains to the disappearance of machines used for construction in 2017 for which a case was registered on September 19, this year.

The missing machinery including bulldozers, carriers and other materials was later found on the premises of Muhammad Ali Jauhar University. Earlier the police had lodged an FIR against Azam Khan and his son, Abdullah Azam and four others under sections 409, 120b (criminal conspiracy) of IPC along with section 2 of damage to public property Act on the complaint of missing machinery at Rampur's municipal corporation.

Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan withdrew his plea in the Supreme Court against state government action on taking over Muhammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh.

A bench of justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari, however, granted the liberty to the petitioner to approach the Allahabad High Court with his grievances. The Supreme Court refused to entertain Azam Khan's plea against state action on taking over Muhammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh.

As the top court was not convinced to hear the matter, Azam Khan's lawyer sought to withdraw the petition. The last time, Azam Khan's lawyer told the High Court that he was facing 87 cases, has got bail with great difficulty and later three more cases were lodged against him on the allegations of corruption.

Azam Khan's lawyer had said that they have taken over the university, closed down the mess and have broken the walls. Earlier on July 22, the Supreme Court set aside the condition imposed by the Allahabad High Court, while granting interim bail to Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, relating to the sealing of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University and directed the concerned authority to de-seal these buildings.

Allahabad HC had imposed the conditions to seal the property while granting interim bail to Azam Khan. The Supreme Court had earlier stayed the condition imposed by the Allahabad HC directions to the District Magistrate to hold a measurement of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University as part of the condition of bail granted to Azam Khan.

Khan has moved a plea against the impending threat of demolition of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University as part of the condition of his bail. The court stayed the conditions till further orders.Khan has apprehended that conditions imposed by the Allahabad High Court may lead to demolishing of buildings of the university.

The top court had said that Allahabad High Court while imposing conditions for grant of bail has exceeded the settled parameters laid down in certain sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).The top court had also said that prima facie conditions imposed for the grant of bail are disproportionate and have no reasonable link to the means to secure the presence of the accused.

On May 10, the Allahabad High Court granted interim bail to Khan in a case related to wrongful possession of the land. The case is about wrongful possession of Waqf Board property.

The Allahabad High Court had imposed various conditions including directions to the District Magistrate, Rampur being a representative of Custodian/Administrator of Evacuee/Enemy Property, to hold a measurement of the landed property in dispute which is the centre dispute of this issue admeasuring area of 13.842 hectares village Singhan Khera, Rampur district and after that, raise a boundary wall and barbed wire around it to take the actual physical possession of the property in dispute on behalf of the administrator of evacuee property Mumbai latest by June 30, 2022.