The Allahabad High Court on Friday granted relief to former Uttar Pradesh minister and senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan by staying his seven-year sentence in connection with a fake birth certificate case. However, the court did not stay the sentences of his wife, Tazeen Fatima, and his son, Abdullah Azam Khan, although they have been granted bail.

Azam Khan's advocate, Sharad Sharma, spoke to the media, stating, "Azam Khan's conviction has been stayed, and Tazeen Fatima and Abdullah Azam's convictions have been rejected."

The case dates back to January 3, 2019, when Akash Saxena, who is now the BJP MLA from Rampur, filed a police complaint alleging that Azam Khan and his wife Tazeen Fatima had obtained two birth certificates for their son Abdullah Azam Khan. On October 18, 2023, a sessions court sentenced the three to seven years in prison for alleged forgery.

According to the charge sheet, one certificate issued by the Rampur municipality listed Abdullah Azam's date of birth as January 1, 1993, while another certificate showed he was born in Lucknow on September 30, 1990. The trio was found guilty under sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 472 (making or possessing counterfeit seal, etc. with intent to commit forgery), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).