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The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday granted bail to the Samajwadi Party's Member of Parliament Mohd. Azam Khan in a 2019 criminal case pertaining to misuse of government letterhead and stamp to malign the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and Shia cleric Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawwad.

The bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha passed the order stating that Khan's continued custody isn't necessary for the purpose of further investigation and trial in the instant case. Court highlighted that Khan is in jail since February 2020, a charge-sheet has been submitted against him and the trial Court has taken cognizance of it.

Despite this relief from the high court, Khan will continue to be in jail in connection as there are multiple other cases registered against him. Khan is currently lodged in Sitapur jail in connection with a number of cases including the present one registered under sections 500 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code.

In the context of the present matter, it is alleged that Khan in the year 2014 had misused his position as a cabinet minister in UP's Akhilesh Yadav government and had got few letters published in the local and national newspapers. 

Allegedly, in those letters, Khan had called the Shia ulema as a Bhartiya Janta Party mole who follows RSS ideology. As per the prosecution case, in one of the letters, Khan had written, "Wearing religious clothes and greeting those who had martyred Babri Masjid and giving bouquets of flowers only suits the religious guru. This religious guru, who said "Modi nar hai to kya dar hai" (If Modi is here, what is the fear), has openly shamed the entire Muslim community by issuing a fatwa to vote for the BJP from the Muqaddas Member (religious forum)."

Thereafter, on a complaint filed by All India Muslim Council's Allama Jamir Naqvi in 2019, a case was registered against Khan at Lucknow's Hazratganj police station. On the question of filing a case with a great delay, Naqvi had stated in his complaint that he had filed one complaint in 2014 also but due to the then government's pressure, the case could not get registered until 2019. 

Case Title: Mohammad Azam Khan v. State of UP