Allahabad HC grants bail to Azam Khan in Jal Nigam recruitment case

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Friday granted bail to senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan in the Jal Nigam recruitment case

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Friday granted bail to senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan in the Jal Nigam recruitment case. A single-judge bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha granted bail to Khan who is lodged in Sitapur jail. With this, he has got bail in 86 of the 87 cases registered against him. So, the former SP minister will continue to remain in prison.

Now, the former SP minister has got bail in 86 of the 87 cases registered against him (HT file)

The case

A retired executive engineer of UP Jal Nigam had lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against Azam Khan in Lucknow on March 3, 2017, alleging irregularities in appointment on 1300 vacant posts in Jal Nigam. These posts were of assistant engineers, junior engineers, clerks, and stenographers. The state government had constituted a special investigation team to probe the case.

Court’s observation

Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case and taking into account the facts that out of 15 accused persons in the case 12 had been granted anticipatory bail by a co-ordinate bench of this court. “Two accused have been granted interim bail. The applicant has been in jail in this case since November 19, 2020,” the court said.

The court also said the prosecution failed to point out any clinching evidence to prove active participation of Azam Khan in the recruitment process in the UP Jal Nigam. “Accordingly, the bail application is allowed,” the court observed. The court also observed that in all 87 criminal cases registered against the applicant (Azam Khan), he has been released on bail in all but two cases including the present case.