Azam Khan and Son Sentenced to Seven Years for Possessing Dual PAN Cards with Different DOBs

Lucknow, Nov 2025 : In a major legal setback for senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan, a Special MP-MLA Court in Rampur on Monday sentenced both of them to seven years’ imprisonment for possessing two PAN cards with different dates of birth — an offence that the court held was part of a broader conspiracy to fraudulently qualify Abdullah for elections.

The court found that Abdullah Azam, a former MLA, deliberately obtained a second PAN card using an incorrect date of birth to artificially increase his age on official records, thereby enabling himself to meet the minimum age requirement to contest elections. The prosecution argued that Azam Khan played a key role in facilitating and supporting the forgery, which the court accepted as evidence of a criminal conspiracy.

Following the pronouncement of the order in a packed courtroom, both Azam and Abdullah were taken into custody.

According to the prosecution, Abdullah did not meet the minimum age criterion for contesting an election at the time. To overcome this barrier, he allegedly used a fabricated date of birth to procure a second PAN card. This card, the prosecution said, was then used in electoral documents and income-tax-related filings, amplifying the gravity of the alleged forgery.

The case marks yet another legal challenge for Azam Khan, who had only recently walked out of jail in a different matter. The present conviction stems from a complaint filed in 2019 by local political figure Akash Kumar Saxena, who accused Abdullah of fraud, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. Saxena’s complaint to the Civil Lines Police on December 6, 2019, pointed out discrepancies in Abdullah’s two PAN cards — one listing his date of birth as January 1, 1993, and the other as September 30, 1990.

Investigators alleged that forged documents were submitted to obtain these identity records, which were subsequently used for electoral purposes and tax filings. The Special Court, agreeing with the prosecution’s arguments, noted that the evidence sufficiently established intent to deceive statutory authorities.

The verdict comes against the backdrop of another legal battle involving Abdullah Azam. On November 6, the Supreme Court dismissed his plea seeking the quashing of an FIR related to allegedly using forged documents to obtain a passport. A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prashant Kumar Mishra upheld the Allahabad High Court’s earlier decision declining to quash the FIR. “We are not inclined to interfere,” the Supreme Court said, adding that the trial court would be free to decide the matter independently on its merits.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court advised Abdullah to place his trust in the lower court, noting, “Let it be decided in the trial court. Why should we interfere now when the trial is already over?”

Earlier, the Allahabad High Court had held that the alleged offences of securing a forged birth certificate and later using it for obtaining a passport were separate and distinct acts, rejecting the argument that the second prosecution amounted to double jeopardy. Abdullah Azam had earlier been convicted in a related case involving accusations of procuring a false birth certificate through fabricated documents.

With the latest conviction, the political future of Abdullah — already entangled in multiple legal disputes — becomes even more uncertain. The sentencing of both father and son marks a significant development in the long-running legal controversies surrounding the family, and the case is likely to have substantial political implications for the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.