PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court on Tuesday granted interim bail to senior Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Mohamad Azam Khan in a case registered against him under the Enemy Property Act in Rampur. It is alleged that he had encroached upon this custodian's land to include it in the Jauhar University.
However, the veteran leader, who is in jail for nearly two years, will not be able to walk free. As many as 88 cases had been registered against Azam Khan and this was 87th case. The last case in which he requires bail was recently registered against him at Sadar Kotwali in Rampur, alleging that he used forged documents to get recognition of Rampur Public School. According to sources, a bail application has been moved in this connection and is still pending before the court concerned.
In the present matter, the court has directed the Rampur DM to take possession of the enemy property situated on the campus of Jauhar University and raise a boundary wall with barbed wire around it and thereby taking the actual physical possession of the property in dispute on behalf of the Administrator of Evacuee Property Mumbai by June 30, 2022.
Granting the interim bail to Azam Khan, Justice Rahul Chaturvedi further directed that on completion of the above-mentioned exercise of taking over the possession of the land, to the satisfaction of the Rampur DM, Khan's interim bail should be converted into regular bail.
To recall, land in dispute relates to one Imamuddin Quereshi, who after the partition, relinquished the citizenship of India and migrated to Pakistan between 1947-49 and since then turned a citizen of Pakistan.
The land in dispute, measuring 13.842 hectares and situated at village Singhan Khera, pargana and tehsil Sadar, Rampur was the focal issue of the entire controversy of the bail application.
The court while allowing the bail plea observed, “However, as bail is a right of any accused and jail is exception, therefore, on humanitarian ground this court, keeping in view the applicant’s deteriorating health, old age and the period undergone in jail is considering the application of bail be allowed by imposing certain conditions.”
The court has directed Azam Khan to surrender his passport and not to seek unnecessary adjournment during trial.
