NEW DELHI: In a major relief to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Khan, the Allahabad High Court has suspended their sentence in the dual PAN card case and granted them bail.
[A PAN (Permanent Account Number) Card is a unique 10-digit alphanumeric identification code issued by the Income Tax Department of India to track tax-related transactions and prevent financial fraud.]
While hearing the matter on Thursday (Oct 29), the High Court declined their plea to stay the conviction. This means that their release from jail will now depend on the legal position in other pending cases, IANS reported.
Justice Samit Gopal of the High Court passed the order while hearing criminal revision petitions filed by the father and son challenging the conviction and sentence awarded by subordinate courts in the two PAN cards case.
As per the prosecution, the matter is related to the alleged procurement and use of a second PAN card that carried a different date of birth.
Also, the allegations included the purported use of the second PAN card in documents of nomination filed for the election.Election monitoring service
The defence challenged the lower court’s verdict through criminal revision petitions, besides seeking suspension of sentence and grant of bail pending disposal of the case.
The High Court has accepted the plea for suspension of sentence and granted bail, but refused to stay the conviction.
Azam Khan and Abdullah Khan are currently lodged in jail in connection with various cases. - The Statesman/ANN
