Azam Khan's hearing in CBI court deferred due to 'absence of papers', returns to Sitapur jail

Azam Khan. File Pic

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who is lodged in Sitapur jail for 38 months, was taken to Lucknow to appear before the CBI court.

However, due to the absence of a few documents on the part of the CBI, the hearing could not take place and the SP leader was set back to the Sitapur jail. The next date for the hearing will be given by this evening. He was taken to the court in connection with a case concerning an alleged Jal Nigam recruitment scam which is being investigated by the Central agency. The investigation of the alleged scam, which was registered by the SIT in 2017, was handed over to the CBI.

A total of eight persons, including the then minister Azam Khan, Director Jal Nigam, and the Project Manager, involved in the alleged scam, were granted anticipatory bail in the case. However, Khan was sent back to Sitapur jail as charges could not be framed against him today due to the absence of papers on the part of the CBI in the case. After Khan was produced in the court, his advocate, Kalim Rehman, said, "Today Azam Khan was produced before the court for the framing of charges against him. The court had sought some documents from the state government which were not provided today.

Because of this reason, the hearing could not be conducted today. When the entire document would be presented, the court will frame the charges. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it will hear Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's plea on Tuesday after it was apprised that he has been arrested in another case. The Court said that this chain will continue and also asked why this coincidence happens whenever he gets bail in one case, he faces another charge. The Uttar Pradesh counsel said there is not any frivolous case against Azam Khan and they will file a detailed affidavit.

The counsel also defended the action against the SP leader and said that there is a substance in each of these cases. The Supreme Court had earlier expressed displeasure with the prolonged delay in pronouncing the judgement by Allahabad High Court on Azam Khan's bail plea and called it a "travesty of justice". The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to the SP leader in a case related to wrongful possession of the land. Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February 2020.

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