On Monday, March 18, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was sentenced to seven years in jail in the Dungarpur case under IPC Sections 427, 504, 506, 447, and 120B. The Rampur MP/MLA court also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the Samajwadi Party leader. Other than Azam Khan, the court convicted contractor Barkat Ali, retired CEO Ale Hasan, and former mayor Azhar Ahmad Khan in the case. The Samajwadi Party leader appeared before the court today via video conferencing from Sitapur Jail.
The case pertains to a property-related dispute in the Rae Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. The Asra Awas shelters were constructed in Dungarpur, where some of the residents already owned homes under the rule of the Samajwadi Party government. Back in 2016, there were allegations that the houses built there were illegally razed, and victims accused officials of corruption.
On Monday, the Allahabad High Court dealt Azam Khan a major setback. The High Court rejected the plea of Azam Khan’s Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust. The Allahabad High Court dismissed the appeal challenging the termination of the trust’s lease in Rampur by the CM Yogi Adityanath-led state government.
Notably, SP leader Azam Khan’s Rampur Public School was operating on leased land. Upon not receiving relief from the High Court, Azam Khan’s Rampur Public School will be closed. In addition to the school, many additional buildings were built on the leased property. The court reserved its decision for December 2023 following the conclusion of the hearing in this case. Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Kshitij Shailendra made up the division bench that delivered the decision.
