Fake Passport and Dual PAN Cases: Supreme Court Stays Trial Against Abdullah Azam Khan

The bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh also issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on Abdullah’s appeal challenging the High Court’s July 23 decision refusing to quash the proceedings. The High Court had dismissed Abdullah’s petitions seeking to set aside the ongoing criminal trials in two cases, one relating to alleged falsification of his date of birth to procure a passport, and the other concerning the use of two separate PAN cards to misrepresent facts in his election affidavit.

“The instant application is devoid of merits and is liable to be dismissed,” the High Court had observed while rejecting Abdullah’s challenge to the criminal proceedings.

The first case arises from a complaint lodged on July 30, 2019, by BJP MLA Akash Saxena, who accused Abdullah of obtaining a passport by misrepresenting his date of birth. The passport reportedly lists his date of birth as September 30, 1990, whereas his school records reflect it as January 1, 1993. The second FIR, registered on December 6, 2019, also on Saxena’s complaint, alleges that Abdullah and his father Azam Khan committed fraud by using two different Permanent Account Numbers (PANs).

According to Saxena, Abdullah declared one PAN number in his 2017 election affidavit, but used a different one in his income tax returns, thereby concealing material facts from the Election Commission. The FIR also includes allegations of forgery and criminal conspiracy.

Both cases are currently pending before the MP/MLA special court in Rampur.

The matter will now be taken up after the Uttar Pradesh government files its reply.

Pertinently, in May, the Allahabad High Court had granted relief to Azam Khan in the fake birth certificate case by staying his conviction. However, the court did not stay the conviction of his wife, Tanzeen Fatima, and son, Abdullah Azam, though their pleas for suspension of sentence were allowed and they were granted bail.

In July 2022, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea filed by Azam Khan seeking direction to quash the charge sheet in the matter. The Trial Court / Special Judge (MP/MLA), ACJM-I, Rampur sentenced all three to seven years in prison for forgery, among other sentences on October 18, 2023.

In related news, in July, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed by Azam Khan seeking transfer of his ongoing hate speech trial from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. Khan had alleged tampering of court records and expressed apprehensions over receiving a fair trial in the state.

The Apex Court, on February 10, 2025, granted bail to Azam Khan, along with his son, Mohammed Abdullah Azam Khan in a case relating to machine theft. "Taking into considering the period of incarceration undergone by the appellants, and that the chargesheet has already been filed, we are inclined to set aside the impugned order and grant bail to the appellants. Accordingly, the appellants are granted bail, subject to the terms and conditions which are to the satisfaction of the Trial Court, " the court had then said.

Case Title: Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan v. State of Uttar Pradesh