The Supreme Court on Thursday used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to grant interim bail to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who argued that the Uttar Pradesh government was relentlessly registering cases against him to ensure he stays in prison.
Mr. Khan had argued that by the time he gets bail in one case, he is made an accused in another crime. This would render any order of bail previously granted to him ineffective.
Eighty-seven criminal cases have so far been registered against him by the State of Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Khan had secured bail in all of them when a new FIR for cheating was registered against him.
A Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao said Mr. Khan would be protected by the interim bail in the new case until he filed an application for regular bail.
‘Peculiar facts’
“We are therefore of the view that this is a fit case wherein this court should exercise its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution and grant interim bail to the petitioner in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, till he files the application for regular bail and the same is considered by the competent court,” the court ordered.
The court said it would not be “in the interest of justice to deprive the petitioner of his personal liberty, particularly when in respect of 87 criminal cases/FIRs, he has already been released on bail.
The last of such bail order was passed as recently as May 10, 2022 by the Single Judge of the Allahabad High Court after reserving the case for judgment in December last year.
Mr. Khan, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, had argued that the cases against him were registered “by the ruling party with mala fide intention”.
The State had countered that it was “always free to file a charge sheet whenever evidence came up during an investigation.
It had argued that Mr. Khan was a heavyweight politician, a land-grabber and a habitual offender.
