Azam Khan (File Photo)
Sitapur: Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Azam Khan was on Tuesday released on bail from the Sitapur jail here after nearly two years of incarceration.
Dressed in his trademark white kurta-pyjama paired with a black waistcoat, Khan drove past the jail premises in a private vehicle, not interacting with a host of reporters who tried to get his comment.
Khan’s elder son, Adeeb, accompanied by hundreds of party workers, gathered outside the Sitapur district jail since morning to receive him. Several SP leaders, including national secretary and former MLA Anup Gupta, Moradabad MP Ruchi Vira and district president Chatrapati Yadav, were also present outside the jail to welcome Khan.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Adeeb said, “Azam Khan is the hero of the day. I am here with all his supporters to welcome him. I have nothing more to say. Whatever has to be said, my father will say after coming out of jail.”
SP leader Ruchi Vira said the party would celebrate this day as “the day of victory of justice”.
“We had faith in the judiciary and will continue to have it. No other politician has been harassed as much as he (Azam Khan) has been,” she told PTI Videos, ahead of Khan’s release.
Meanwhile, the district administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Sitapur to “prevent any untoward incident”, officials said, even as a large number of supporters managed to reach near the jail with their vehicles, causing traffic congestion.
Sitapur traffic police issued challans to several vehicles that had gathered in violation of restrictions.
“There was chaos and rush despite Section 163 being in force. Vehicles were not allowed to come close to the jail, but they somehow managed to reach there. Action had to be taken to avoid further complications,” City Circle Officer Vinayak Bhosle said earlier in the day.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday welcomed veteran leader Azam Khan’s release from jail, and announced that all “false” cases against him will be withdrawn once the party comes to power in Uttar Pradesh.
“Azam Khan is not only a founder member of the Samajwadi Party but has also played a key role in the Samajwadi (socialist) movement. Today is a moment of great joy… he has finally got justice,” Yadav told reporters here.
The former chief minister said that once the SP forms its government in Uttar Pradesh, all “false cases” registered against Khan would be withdrawn.
Without taking any names, Yadav alleged that the chief minister (Yogi Adityanath) withdrew all cases registered against himself, his deputy chief minister and other BJP leaders after the saffron party formed its government in the state.
“Just like the BJP government has withdrawn cases against its own leaders, under a Samajwadi Party government, false cases against Azam Khan and others will be withdrawn.
“Even journalists who have been targeted with fabricated cases will get relief,” Yadav asserted.
This post was last modified on September 23, 2025 1:54 pm