SC gives bail to Azam, says UP may club together cases

NEW DELHI: As multiple FIRs have been lodged against Samajwadi Party member Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Khan for procuring various documents including passport, PAN card on the basis of alleged forged birth certificates, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the UP government to consider clubbing all cases together while directing that they be released on bail subject to the trial court examining the complainant within four weeks.
While granting relief to the politicians, a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna questioned the UP government whether it was at all needed to keep them in custody when the probe had been completed and chargesheet filed in the case.
The bench said trial proceedings would take a long time and it may not be reasonable to keep them in jail till completion of trial.
The Khans had moved the SC after the Allahabad HC rejected the bail application.