New Delhi, Sep 18, 2025
In a significant relief to senior Samajwadi Party leader and former cabinet minister Mohammad Azam Khan, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday granted him bail in the controversial Rampur ‘Quality Bar’ land grab case.
The single Bench of Justice Sameer Jain delivered the order, which had been reserved on August 21 after hearing arguments from all sides.
Khan, who has been lodged in jail, had moved the High Court after his bail plea was rejected by the Rampur MP-MLA court on May 17, 2025.
The case pertains to allegations that Khan, along with others, illegally occupied land belonging to the popular Quality Bar situated on the highway in Said Nagar Hardoi Patti, under Rampur’s Civil Lines police station limits.
The controversy dates back to November 21, 2019, when the bar’s owner, Gagan Arora, lodged a complaint alleging encroachment.
Acting on his complaint, then Revenue Inspector Anangraj Singh filed an FIR, naming several individuals, including Rampur Municipal Chairman Syed Jafar Ali Jafri, Azam Khan’s wife and former MP Tazeen Fatma, and his son, former MLA Abdullah Azam Khan.
During the course of investigation, the police also made Azam Khan an accused in the case.
Following this, his bail plea was filed before the Rampur MP-MLA court but was rejected earlier this year, prompting him to approach the High Court.
The High Court’s order now clears the way for Khan’s release in this particular case.
Notably, this is Azam Khan’s third consecutive relief in a week.
Earlier on September 10, the High Court had granted him bail in the Dungarpur case while on September 16, the Rampur court had acquitted him in the contempt of court case.
Khan, once considered the Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party and a close aide of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, has been embroiled in a series of legal controversies in recent years, ranging from alleged land encroachments to corruption cases.(Agency)
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