Rampur court extends Azam Khan's son sentence by 3 years in fake PAN card case

Lucknow ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh) : Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan will now serve 10 years in prison after a Rampur MP/MLA court enhanced their sentence in the fake PAN card case. On Saturday, the court increased their earlier seven-year jail term by three more years each while also imposing a fine of ₹5 lakh on both. The duo has been lodged in Rampur jail since November 17, 2025, when they were first convicted and fined ₹50,000 each in the same case.

The sentence enhancement came after the Uttar Pradesh government appealed through ADGC Seema Rana on December 5, 2025, arguing that the offence was not merely a documentation irregularity but a serious case involving misuse of government identity documents and fraud. The prosecution had sought life imprisonment for both accused.

The duo has been lodged in Rampur jail since November 17, 2025, when they were first convicted and fined ₹50,000 each in the same case.The sentence enhancement came after the Uttar Pradesh government appealed through ADGC Seema Rana on December 5, 2025, arguing that the offence was not merely a documentation irregularity but a serious case involving misuse of government identity documents and fraud.

The case dates back to the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections when Abdullah Azam contested from the Swar seat. According to investigators, he was ineligible to contest as he had not attained the minimum age of 25 years. His original date of birth was allegedly January 1, 1993, but a forged birth certificate obtained from the Lucknow Municipal Corporation reportedly showed his birth year as 1990. Based on the forged document, Abdullah allegedly secured fake PAN cards and later obtained two passports.

The controversy surfaced after BSP candidate Nawab Kazim Ali Khan challenged Abdullah’s nomination, claiming he was underage during the election. Subsequent investigations found that forged age documents had been used, leading to the cancellation of Abdullah’s election and termination of his Assembly membership.