2016 Forced Eviction Case | Allahabad HC Extends Stay On Passing Of Final Order In Trial Against Azam Khan Till July 15

The Allahabad High Court today extended the stay (until July 15) on the passing of a final order in the consolidated trial of the 2016 Forcible Eviction Case involving former UP Minister and MP Mohammad Azam Khan and others. The order was passed by a bench of Justice Sameer Jain after AAG Manish Goyal sought time to seek instructions and file some compilations in the matter. Earlier, a stay was granted on the passing of a final verdict, till July 3, on a plea filed by Khan's co-accused in the matter, who claimed that the trial court was 'adamant' to conclude the trial in June itself.Senior Advocate SFA Naqvi, along with Advocate Zaheer Asghar, appeared for Mohammad Islam & Ors. (Co-accused persons). Senior Advocate NI Jafri, along with Advocates Shashwat Anand and Shashank Tiwari, appeared for ex-MP Azam Khan and his aide Virendra Goel.The case relates to an alleged incident dated October 15, 2016, involving the demolition of unauthorised structures on Waqf property known as Yateem Khana, Waqf No. 157, located in Rampur.A total of 12 FIRs, registered between 2019 and 2020, were clubbed into a single trial by the Special Judge (MP/MLA), Rampur, last year in August. Charges include dacoity, house trespass, and criminal conspiracy under the IPC.In a significant development on June 25, a separate bench of Justice Samit Gopal had directed that a fresh petition filed by Khan and his aide Virendra Goel, concerning the same matter, be tagged with the earlier petition filed by the co-accused (in which the stay on the final order had already been granted).However, given the existing stay on the passing of the final judgment in the consolidated trial, the Court had declined to pass any fresh interim directions and ordered that their petition be clubbed with the co-accused's plea.Briefly put, in their plea, Khan and Goel have challenged the trial court's May 30, 2025, orders that denied their requests to recall the informants in the 12 FIRs (now clubbed into a single trial) and key prosecution witnesses, including Zafar Ahmad Farooqui, Chairman of the Sunni Central Waqf Board, and to produce exculpatory videographic evidence of the alleged October 15, 2016, eviction at Yateem Khana, Waqf No. 157, in Rampur.The petitioners argue that this footage, acknowledged by Farooqui, could prove their absence from the scene, dismantling the prosecution's claims in the consolidated trial (Special Case No. 45 of 2020).Their plea also seeks quashing of the entire trial, claiming the same to be violating their constitutional rights under Articles 14, 19, 20, and 21, and branding the proceedings as malicious.

2016 Forced Eviction Case | Allahabad HC Extends Stay On Passing Of Final Order In Trial Against Azam Khan Till July 15

Sparsh Upadhyay

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