A Lucknow Magistrate Court has acquitted senior Samajwadi Party leader and former MP Azam Khan in a case accusing him of misusing official stationery and a government seal to issue alleged defamatory communications against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Delivering the verdict on Friday, Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division)/ACJM Alok Verma observed that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations beyond reasonable doubt, and that no clinching evidence was produced to substantiate the claims made against Khan.

According to the case record, an FIR was registered in February 2019 based on a complaint by Allama Jamir Naqbi, a writer. The complainant alleged that in 2014, while serving as a Cabinet Minister, Khan had “intentionally written certain letters on his official letterhead and on blank papers containing defamatory remarks against the RSS, BJP and Maulana Sayyed Kalbe Jawwad Naqbi.”

It was further claimed that the alleged letters were later circulated to the media and that their contents were “published in national newspapers and broadcast on TV news channels” through Khan’s “influence and high-level connections.” The complaint was lodged after a five-year delay, alleging deliberate misuse of position to malign the organizations and individuals mentioned.

Based on these allegations, the police booked Khan under Sections 500 (Defamation) and 505 (Statements conducing public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

During the proceedings, the Court noted that the evidence produced was insufficient to link Khan directly to the authorship or dissemination of the alleged letters. Finding that the prosecution failed to discharge its burden of proof, the Court acquitted Azam Khan of all charges.

With this ruling, the veteran politician has been cleared in yet another case filed against him during his tenure as a minister.