Uttar Pradesh: Abdullah Azam, SP MLA and Azam Khan's son, disqualified from state assembly after 2008 case conviction

Abdullah Azam's disqualification comes under the Representation of the People Act. The act states that anyone sentenced to two years or more in prison will be disqualified from the date of conviction and will remain so for six years after completion of the prison sentence.

Lucknow: Abdullah Azam, Samajwadi Party MLA and son of veteran party leader Azam Khan, was on Wednesday disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly under the Representation of the People Act, days after being sentenced to two-year imprisonment in a 15-year-old case by the MP-MLA court in Moradabad. The issue came to the fore following a letter from Rampur BJP MLA Akash Saxena, who submitted a letter to Pradeep Dubey, Principal Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

"Abdullah Azam Khan is currently the sitting MLA for constituency no. 4 - Suar assembly constituency. Provisions have been made for the termination of membership of any people's representative if they are charged with a two-year prison sentence Under sections 8(1), (2) and (3) of Representation of the People Act, 1951..." Saxena said in his letter filed on February 14.

The current incident marks the second instance of Azam being terminated from his position as an MLA. Significantly, his father and Rampur MLA Azam Khan, too, was removed from the state assembly after he was convicted in a hate-speech case. Meanwhile, the jail term was awarded to both junior and senior Khan for their role in the 2008 case. They were charged under sections 353 and others of the Indian Penal Code.

After Azam Khan's disqualification from the Rampur seat, Saxena defeated SP candidate Asim Raza in the by-polls held back in December, 2022. A long-time Samajwadi Party legislator, Azam Khan has won the Rampur Sadar nine times so far since 1980.