"Approach HC": SC turns down Azam Khan's bail plea

New Delhi: Supreme Court in its order on Tuesday turned down Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mohammad Azam Khan's plea seeking interim bail and it asked him to approach the Allahabad High Court where his bail plea is pending. 

The Senior SP leader, Azam Khan had filed a petition on January 22, in the Supreme Court seeking immediate interim bail to campaign for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh state Assembly elections.

The Supreme Court asked the Allahabad High Court to hear his plea and decide it expeditiously. A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao and also comprising Justice BR Gavai, today, refused to grant interim bail to Azam Khan.

Senior lawyer, Kapil Sibal, appearing for Khan, told the Supreme Court that the bail plea was not being taken up for the last 3-4 months, despite repeated requests for hearing.

The Supreme Court today thereby, asked the Allahabad High Court to take into account the concernes raised by the petitioner (Khan) in the case.

Azam Khan, in his petition, filed in the Supreme Court, had said that the state is "purposefully delaying the proceedings" of prosecution against him, so that he can't be a part of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.

Khan, in his petition had alleged that the Uttar Pradesh state government is "purposefully delaying proceedings in the remaining three bail applications." "The State has adopted all means available to purposefully delay the proceedings in these remaining three Bail applications so as to ensure that the petitioner is incarcerated during the State Assembly elections scheduled to be held in the State of UP from February 10, 2022, to March 07, 2022, and cannot join in the election campaign for his party," Azam Khan, had in his petition filed before the Supreme Court, said. (UNI)