High Stakes Legal Battle: Azam Khan's Family Fights Conviction

The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government regarding separate pleas submitted by Tazeen Fatma, wife of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, and her son Abdullah Azam Khan. They are seeking to suspend their convictions in a case involving allegedly forged birth certificates.

While issuing a notice, the bench, including Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and K Vinod Chandran, asked lawyer Nizam Pasha, representing the petitioners, how to stay the conviction. Chief Justice Gavai noted that a stay of conviction is a rare measure, typically distinguished from the suspension of a sentence.

The mother and son duo have contested an Allahabad High Court decision that denied suspending their convictions, despite temporarily staying their sentences. This refusal still triggers disqualification under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, impacting their political path and social reputation significantly.