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Rampur: The troubles of Samajwadi Party’s senior leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan seem to be increasing once again. The debate in the court has been completed on the appeal demanding increase in the sentence of both of them in the famous PAN card case of Rampur. Now all eyes are on the MP-MLA Sessions Court, which can give its final verdict in this matter on May 23. If the court accepts the arguments of the prosecution, Azam and his son may have to remain behind the bars for a long time.

What is this whole matter of two PAN cards?

This entire controversy dates back to the year 2019, when BJP leader and current city MLA Akash Saxena had lodged a serious complaint at the Civil Lines police station in Rampur. It was alleged in the complaint that Abdullah Azam had made two different PAN cards with the help of different dates of birth and fake documents. In this case, there were serious allegations of manipulation of government records and use of fake documents. During the police investigation, Azam Khan’s role in this fraud also came to light, after which the police filed a charge sheet in the court, making both father and son accused.

Already sentenced to 7 years from Magistrate Court

The trial of this high-profile case continued for nearly six years in the special MP-MLA Magistrate Court of Rampur. Last year, on November 17, 2025, the court found both of them guilty and sentenced them to seven years in jail and a fine of Rs 50,000 each. Immediately after this decision, both of them were taken into judicial custody and sent to jail. After this, the defense filed an appeal against this decision in the MP-MLA Sessions Court, which was rejected by the court about a month ago.

Now the prosecution is adamant on increasing the punishment

On one hand, the Azam family was trying to reduce their sentence, while on the other hand, the prosecution filed a separate appeal in the court and demanded further increase in the sentence of both of them. The prosecution clearly argues that this is not a common fraud but a very serious and well-planned fraud done with government documents. In such a situation, to send a strong message to the society, the culprits should be given more stringent punishment under the law.

The court’s final decision will come on May 23.

There was a heated debate going on in the MP-MLA Sessions Court of Rampur for the last several days on this appeal to increase the punishment. On Tuesday, lawyers from both sides presented their final arguments before the court, after which the court declared the arguments in the case complete. The court has reserved its decision on this sensitive matter and now on May 23 it will be decided whether the jail term of Azam Khan and Abdullah Azam will be extended or they will get some relief.