Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former cabinet minister and Member of Parliament Azam Khan was released from Sitapur district jail on Tuesday after 23 months. Azam Khan soon left for his home town Rampur, accompanied by his sons Abdullah and Adeeb. Heavy security was deployed outside the jail and Khan exited through the side gate.
Dressed in his trademark white kurta-pyjama paired with a black waistcoat, Khan drove past the jail premises in a private vehicle, not interacting with a host of reporters who tried to get his comment. Khan’s elder son, Adeeb, accompanied by hundreds of party workers, had gathered outside the Sitapur district jail since morning to receive him.
Several SP leaders, including party’s national secretary and former MLA Anup Gupta, Moradabad MP Ruchi Vira and district president Chatrapati Yadav, were also present outside the jail to welcome Khan.
His release from jail was delayed due to delay in completing the procedural formalities in some of his old cases. As soon as the formalities were completed, he came out of the jail.
The Sitapur jail received release orders in 72 of Azam Khan’s cases, including 19 cases in which the MP-MLA Sessions Court had issued bail orders.
Previously, release orders had been issued in 53 other cases, including the high-profile Quality Bar case. Khan had also received bail in the Dungarpur case, in which he was sentenced to 10 years but later granted bail by the High Court. Verification of bail sureties by the police and revenue administration was completed on Monday, clearing the way for his release.
The Allahabad High Court had granted bail to Khan in the high-profile Quality Bar case in Rampur. Justice Sameer Jain approved Khan’s bail plea, clearing the way for his release as no other bail applications remained pending.
The Quality Bar case dates back to November 21, 2019, when a complaint was filed by the bar owner, leading to an FIR against Azam Khan, his wife Dr Tazeen Fatma, his son Abdullah, and others.
Khan’s name was included in the chargesheet filed in January 2025. The prosecution failed to prove the charges, and the property in question was allotted in the names of his wife and son as per rules. Dr Tazeen Fatma and Abdullah Azam had already secured bail in this case in 2020.
Over the years, more than 80 cases were registered against Azam Khan, ranging from land disputes to encroachment allegations. With the recent bail orders and completion of legal formalities, the path is now clear for Khan to walk free after years of legal battles.