No relief for Azam Khan from Supreme Court in money laundering case

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has received no relief from the Supreme Court in a new money laundering case. On Thursday, a bench of the Supreme Court refused to hear Azam Khan's bail application. The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has decided to transfer this matter to the Allahabad High Court. The court has directed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to list this application for hearing before a division bench on 16 November. Along with this, the Supreme Court has expressed hope that the High Court will pass interim orders on Azam Khan's application on the same day.

According to NDTV's report, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Azam Khan, raised serious questions over the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) action. He alleged that there were malicious intentions behind this arrest made by the ED. Kapil Sibal argued in the court that just when Azam Khan was about to be released from jail, he was arrested again. He further stated, "They just want me to remain inside the jail during the elections."

Looking at the sequence of events of Azam Khan's arrest, the ED took him into custody in a money laundering case on 31 October. This arrest was made at a time when Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan were released on bail from Rampur jail in a purported dual PAN card case. Subsequently, on 1 November, Azam Khan was produced before a special court in Ghaziabad. His lawyer clarified that this money laundering case is related to the Jauhar Trust.

78-year-old Azam Khan is known as a veteran leader of the Samajwadi Party. He has been active in Uttar Pradesh politics for a long time and has shouldered responsibilities as an MLA and minister multiple times. Regarding the Jauhar Trust established by him and its management, many controversies and legal proceedings have surfaced in the past as well. Due to Azam Khan's political influence and various cases against him, this entire matter has also become a subject of discussion in political circles. Now all eyes are fixed on the hearing to be held in the Allahabad High Court on 16 November, where a decision regarding Azam Khan's bail will be taken.

In this entire sequence of events, the Supreme Court has emphasized following the legal process by sending the case to the High Court. Now it will be important to see what stance the High Court's division bench adopts on this matter and whether Azam Khan gets relief or not. Currently, Azam Khan is in judicial custody and considering the arguments made by his lawyers, legal arguments are likely to intensify during the upcoming hearing.