New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Allahabad High Court order disqualifying Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abdullah Azam Khan following a discrepancy in his date of birth provided in official records.
Abdullah Azam Khan is the son of the senior SP leader Azam Khan.
A Bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi and also comprising Justice B V Nagarathna passed the order on an appeal filed by Abdullah Azam Khan.
Abdullah Azam Khan moved the Supreme Court after the Allahabad High Court disqualified then MLA Abdullah Azam Khan for not having attained the age of 25 years as prescribed under Article 173(b) of the Constitution while contesting elections.
Challenging his age discrepancy, one Nawab K Ali Khan had moved the High Court in 2019 alleging that Abdullah Azam Khan, in his election affidavit, had shown himself to be older than he actually was.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Abdullah Azam Khan, had argued that the petitioner before the High Court had not discharged their initial burden of proving the allegation, which could have been done by placing evidence on record.
Advocate Aadil Singh Boparai, appearing for the respondent (Nawab Khan) before the top court, submitted that the burden of proof does not shift in such cases.
Abdullah Azam Khan had won from Suar constituency in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections. He along with his father Azam Khan and his mother Tazeen Fatma were arrested for the alleged offences of cheating and forgery of his birth certificate in February 2020.
Abdullah Azam Khan was released on bail in January this year.
