A local court in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday handed a seven-year prison sentence on Wednesday to senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former MP Azam Khan, his wife Tanzeen Fatima, and his son Abdullah Azam Khan. They were found guilty in a case related to the alleged forgery of Abdullah’s birth certificate.

The court in Rampur found Azam Khan, his wife, and son guilty, leading to their immediate arrest, marking the fourth conviction in the last month for Azam Khan and the second for former MLA Abdullah Azam Khan.

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Their convictions were based on several Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

The legal proceedings involved the examination of 15 prosecution witnesses by the court, while the defense presented 19 witnesses. The defense counsel, Nasir Sultan, has stated their intention to file an appeal against the judgment.

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As per prosecution, case itself dates back to January 3, 2019, when Akash Saxena, a local resident who is now a BJP MLA from Rampur, filed a case under Ganj police station jurisdiction. The allegations stated were on Azam Khan and Tanzeen Fatima, who were accused of conspiring to obtain two birth certificates for their son Abdullah Azam Khan.

Abdullah Azam Khan’s legal issues revolved around two conflicting birth certificates, the first certificate, dated June 28, 2012, from Rampur municipality, claimed his birthplace as Rampur and was issued based on an oath letter by Tanzeen Fatima and Azam Khan.

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In contrast, the second certificate, issued on January 21, 2015, by the Lucknow municipality, cited Mary Hospital in Lucknow as the source. Abdullah was accused of using the first certificate for his passport and international travel, while the second was employed for government records and securing affiliation with Jauhar University.

In a separate case from February, a Moradabad court sentenced Azam Khan and Abdullah Azam Khan to two years imprisonment for an incident dating back 15 years. They were booked for obstructing traffic after their vehicle was stopped by police for inspection, but both were subsequently granted bail. Abdullah’s Assembly membership was revoked as a consequence.

In October of the previous year, Azam Khan faced a three-year prison sentence from a Rampur court in a hate speech case during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The charges were related to his alleged use of inappropriate language against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and others.

This conviction resulted in his disqualification from the Assembly, leading to a by-poll victory for the BJP. However, in May, Rampur’s session court acquitted Khan in the case. The government appealed his acquittal in the High Court, and the case is still pending.