Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Mohammad Azam Khan was released from Sitapur district jail on Friday, a day after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in a case of cheating.
The apex court granted the bail by exercising its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.
Shivpal Singh Yadav, the estranged uncle of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Khan's two sons were present at the Sitapur prison gate to welcome Azam Khan.
Welcoming Azam Khan's release from the jail, Akhilesh Yadav later tweeted, "Hearty welcome to Shri Azam Khan ji on his release on bail. With this decision of bail, the Supreme Court has given new standards to justice. I am sure that he will be acquitted in all other false cases. Lies have moments, not centuries.”
Azam Khan was accused in 88 cases registered against him and he has been in jail since February, 2020. Earlier, the court had granted him bail in 87 cases while the 88th case pertained to land-grabbing and forgery at Rampur Public School.
Azam Khan was accused of forging building certificates to get recognition for the school. The cheating case was filed on May 6, days before Khan was granted bail in all 87 cases and was supposed to walk out of prison.
The Rampur MLA alleged that he was being implicated in multiple cases to prolong his stay in the jail.
A Supreme Court bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai and AS Bopa said that it was fit to grant interim bail to Khan, considering the chronology of cases registered against him, one after another by the Uttar Pradesh government.
The apex court invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and granted him interim bail. The bench asked Azam Khan to approach the lower court for regular bail within a period of two weeks.
On Friday morning, a heavy police force was deployed outside Sitapur district jail as Azam Khan's supporters thronged the gates and raised slogans in support of him. Both his sons -- Abdullah and Adeeb -- also reached the jail to receive their father.
The Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party and one of the co-founders of the party, Azam Khan had a series of cases registered against him after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Uttar Pradesh. Despite the odds, Azam Khan managed to win the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Rampur. He later contested the 2022 UP assembly election from jail from Rampur assembly constituency and won.