AMN –Sitapur/Rampur / NEW DELHI
Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Mohammad Azam Khan was released from Sitapur jail on Tuesday, ending his 23-month incarceration in connection with a string of criminal cases.
Outside the jail, hundreds of SP workers and supporters gathered to welcome the 77-year-old leader. His release, however, was delayed by nearly two hours as bond formalities and unpaid fines in a couple of older cases had to be cleared. Once the court completed the process, Khan was formally freed and left immediately for Rampur, escorted by a convoy of more than a dozen vehicles.
Anticipating large crowds, the Sitapur administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in the vicinity of the jail. Loudspeaker announcements warned people against assembling to ensure law and order.
Khan’s release followed the Allahabad High Court granting him bail on September 18 in the final pending case against him. Over the past seven years, the veteran SP leader has faced dozens of FIRs on a wide spectrum of charges.
Welcoming the development, SP president Akhilesh Yadav said the release was a “matter of relief and joy” for Khan, his family, and supporters. Yadav thanked the judiciary for “upholding faith in justice” and reiterated that the party would withdraw cases against Khan if it returned to power. “Even those filing false cases have now realised that lies and conspiracies have limits,” Yadav said, adding that Khan would continue to raise his voice for the marginalised and oppressed and serve as a symbol of social harmony and justice.
Speculation about Khan’s possible shift to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was brushed aside by Yadav, who called him the “main face of the SP in the fight against the BJP.” Khan himself downplayed the buzz, telling reporters, “I will get treatment, I want to live. I was not in touch with anyone in jail.”
SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav alleged that Khan, a ten-time MLA, had been victimised by the state government through false cases. “This bail is a signal that justice will prevail for Khan and his family. The SP stands firmly with him and will continue the legal battle against BJP’s persecution,” he asserted.
Khan’s return to Rampur, his political bastion, is expected to recharge SP’s cadre ahead of the coming electoral battles, with party leaders portraying his release as both a legal and moral victory.