New Delhi, Oct 29 — The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Thursday welcomed the Allahabad High Court's order granting relief to party leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Khan, while accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Uttar Pradesh government of "discriminating" against Khan's family.
The Allahabad High Court on Thursday suspended the sentence of the SP leader and his son in the dual PAN card case and also granted them bail.
However, the High Court declined their plea to stay the conviction itself. Now, their release from jail will depend on the legal position in other pending cases.
Speaking to IANS, SP MP Ramashankar Rajbhar said: "This (BJP) government has treated Azam Sahib's family in a discriminatory manner and is pursuing a politics of appeasement in Uttar Pradesh."
"By appeasement, I mean that the government believes that if action is taken against Muslims, Hindus will unite. It wants to practise appeasement among Hindus. As for the bail that has been granted, let the government change. The honourable courts will quash all the charges against Azam 'saheb' that have been lodged under pressure and as part of a conspiracy," he added.
Welcoming the High Court's order, SP leader S.T. Hasan said: "The (BJP) government had implicated Azam Khan 'sahab' in these cases...he has now received relief from the court. This is the biggest happiness for all of us. We pray that his difficulties come to an end, that he is released, and that no further cases are filed against him."
SP leader Ajay Sagar added: "Mohammad Azam Khan 'saheb' and Abdullah Azam Khan 'saheb', and all their well-wishers, I want to congratulate everyone and extend my best wishes. Now, after about eleven-and-a-half months, our leader is coming out, and there is a lot of enthusiasm and happiness among all the workers. Across the entire state, there is an atmosphere of excitement, like Diwali or Eid."
Earlier on Thursday, Justice Samit Gopal of the Allahabad High Court passed the order while hearing criminal revision petitions filed by the father and son challenging the conviction and sentence awarded by subordinate courts in the two PAN cards case.
According to the prosecution, the case is related to the alleged procurement and use of a second PAN card that carried a different date of birth.
The allegations also included the purported use of the second PAN card in documents of nomination filed for the election.