The Supreme Court on Thursday transferred a petition filed by Samajwadi Party leader Mohd. Azam Khan challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the Allahabad High Court, requesting that it be listed before a Division Bench on November 16, 2026. The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also requested the High Court to consider Azam Khan’s prayer for interim relief on that date.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Azam Khan, argued that the ED arrest was part of a series of criminal proceedings initiated against him and fresh cases were being registered as he secured relief in earlier matters. He submitted that Azam Khan had been implicated in numerous FIRs, many relating to incidents dating back to 2006, and had remained incarcerated for a substantial period. Mr Sibal argued that the latest arrest in a money-laundering case came immediately after Azam Khan secured bail in the dual PAN card case.
During the hearing, the Bench noted the passage of time between the alleged incidents, registration of the FIRs and the subsequent ED proceedings. The Court observed:
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“But be that as it may, there is substantial passage of time, right? Now, that ECIR came into being in 2019. And its fulcrum is extortion. In the course of this ECIR, they go on with the investigation. And it appears what is the nub of their material is some income tax proceedings, where they find substantial funds which have not been accounted for, which relate to the management of the university, which is the one which was the beneficiary of this extortion racket.”
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Mr Sibal contended that the proceedings were being used to keep Azam Khan behind bars despite his obtaining bail in several cases. He also referred to allegations in the underlying FIRs, questioning how incidents allegedly dating back to 2006 could lead to FIRs being registered in 2019. He submitted that Aazm Khan was over 80 years old and sought protection against repeated arrests in cases relating to past incidents.
The Bench, however, declined to examine the merits of the allegations and considered it appropriate for the Allahabad High Court to hear the matter. In its operative directions, the Supreme Court stated:
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“The Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court will directly report the matter before the High Court, even if there are vacations, and obtain appropriate orders for the listing of the matter before the Division Bench of the High Court on 16th November 2026. The Division Bench of the High Court is requested to pass appropriate orders on the prayer for interim relief.”
The Registry has been directed to transmit the original record of the petition to the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court within two days. The Court clarified that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits and that all contentions were kept open. Khan was also granted liberty to amend the petition, if advised.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju appeared for the State.