The Supreme Court Tuesday directed that bail be granted to senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his son Mohammad Abdullah, subject to the trial court examining the complainant within two weeks, in a case of alleged cheating and forgery of documents by them for getting a second PAN card. Azam allegedly helped his then minor son procure a second PAN card using forged documents to show the wrong date of birth to enable him to contest the 2017 assembly elections from Suar constituency in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and SanjivKhanna observed that since the charge sheet has been filed in the case, which relates to mostly documentary evidences, bail be granted to both the father-son duo after trial court records the statement of the informant within two weeks.

With the grant of bail in the forgery case, Azam Khan has got bail in all the FIRs except for two cases. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, vehemently opposed the bail pleas saying they both are habitual offenders and there are 87 FIRs lodged against them including one of land grabbing of enemy property worth billions of rupees by forging documents. He said bail should not be granted to them as they were absconding and attachment proceedings were initiated against them for the offences which entail life imprisonment.