news desk – The petition of senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was heard in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal presented arguments on behalf of Azam Khan before the bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant. Sibal raised questions about Azam Khan's age, the number of cases registered against him and the FIR being registered many years after the alleged incident. Calling it a case of harassment, he asked how an FIR could be registered in 2019 for an incident of 2006 and how the PMLA case got linked to it.
However, the Supreme Court refused to give any final opinion on the merits of the case. The court decided to send the petition to the Allahabad High Court and requested the High Court to hear the matter by November 16, the very first day of opening of the court after the holidays.
'My client is 80 years old, 28 cases and one ECIR'
During the hearing, Kapil Sibal, while presenting Azam Khan's side, said that his client is 80 years old, 28 cases are registered against him and there is also an ECIR. Sibal called it a complete case of harassment. He argued that the FIR was registered in 2019 in the incident which is said to be related to 2006, even though Azam Khan was not in power at that time.
Sibal raised the question that how can an FIR be registered after 13 years regarding an incident of 2006. He urged the court to consider the matter.
On this, the CJI said that there may be some merit in the arguments raised by Azam Khan, but the Supreme Court does not want to give any opinion on the merits of the case at this stage. The court said to send the petition to the High Court.
'Incident of 2006, how did FIR, PMLA come in 2019?'
Kapil Sibal said that he will accept whatever order the court gives, but the Supreme Court must take a look at the matter. He again raised the question that the incident happened in 2006 and the FIR was registered in 2019. In such a situation, how did PMLA come into this matter?
In response to Sibal's arguments, the Supreme Court mentioned some proceedings of the Income Tax Department related to the case. The court said that during these proceedings a large amount of money was found which was not accounted for. According to the court, the money belonged to the management of the university and the university was the beneficiary of this alleged extortion racket.
Argument for registering FIR after release from jail
The Supreme Court also mentioned the argument given by Azam Khan during the hearing. The court said that the petitioner says that immediately after his release from jail, the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) registered an FIR.
The court cited the alleged mismanagement of funds in the university as the main reason for the case. He also mentioned the unaccounted money found in the proceedings of the Income Tax Department and aspects related to the management of the university.
Now hearing will be held in Allahabad High Court
The Supreme Court decided to send Azam Khan's petition to Allahabad High Court. The court requested the High Court to list the matter for hearing by November 16, the first day of opening of the court after the holidays.
Now Azam Khan will have to present his arguments before the Allahabad High Court. The Supreme Court has not yet given any final opinion on the merits of the case.