Sitapur/Lucknow, Sep 23: Samajwadi Party founder member Azam Khan was released on bail from Sitapur jail on Tuesday after nearly two years, with party chief Akhilesh Yadav saying the veteran leader has “finally got justice”.

Shortly after coming out of jail, Khan, a former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister, thanked those “who prayed for him”, while the SP chief vowed to withdraw all “false cases” against the senior leader if his party returned to power in Uttar Pradesh.

“I thank all those who prayed for me,” Khan told reporters in Bareilly while en route to Rampur, his hometown.

Asked if he believes that justice had been delivered, Khan said, “I can’t say that”.

The 77-year-old former MP also dismissed speculations about his joining the Bahujan Samaj Party.

“Ask those who are making such claims,” he said when asked about reports of him switching sides.

Welcoming the court’s order, the SP president said Khan is not only a founder member of the SP, but has also played a key role in the country’s socialist movement.

“Today is a moment of great joy… he has finally got justice,” Yadav told reporters in Lucknow.

The former chief minister alleged that “hundreds of fabricated cases” had been filed against Khan and asserted that once the SP comes to power in Uttar Pradesh, “all false cases against Azam Khan and others will be withdrawn.”

“Even journalists who have been targeted with fabricated cases will get relief,” he added.

Without naming anyone, Yadav alleged that the BJP government withdrew cases against its own leaders after coming to power.

“Just like they withdrew their own cases, we will do the same for those who were falsely implicated,” he said, thanking the courts for granting Khan bail.

Meanwhile, SP national general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav rebuffed reports about Khan joining the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), terming them as “rumours”.

“There is no question of Azam Khan sahab joining any other party. He has been and will always remain with the Samajwadi Party. The SP and its leadership have always stood by Khan sahab and will continue to do so,” Shivpal told PTI from Jhansi, adding that he would meet Khan soon.

However, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said even if Khan switched to the BSP, it wouldn’t have any impact on the prospects of the BJP in the 2027 assembly polls.

“Whether Khan stays in the SP or joins the BSP, the defeat of both parties is certain in 2027,” he said on X.

Reacting to Khan getting bail from the court, BJP’s Rampur MLA Akash Saxena, who has filed several cases against the SP leader, said his fight against injustice will continue.

“We have always accorded the highest respect to the judiciary. Whether Azam Khan sahab remains in the SP or sides with the BSP, our fight against injustice would continue unabated,” he told PTI.

Khan’s family has been among the most influential in west Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district for more than three decades.

Faced with multiple cases over the years, Khan’s release came days after the Allahabad High Court recently granted him bail in the Quality Bar land encroachment case in Rampur district last week.

Justice Samir Jain had reserved the order on August 21 after hearing the counsels.

The case pertained to the alleged illegal occupation of the bar premises, with Khan’s name added during reinvestigation nearly five years after the FIR was lodged.

His counsel argued that there had been undue delay in lodging the case, as the alleged incident dated back to 2013.

Dressed in his trademark white kurta-pyjama and black waistcoat paired with tinted sunglasses, the once influential Khan left the jail premises in a private vehicle on Tuesday afternoon after 23 months behind bars. He did not speak to reporters outside the jail where a large crowd of party workers and supporters had gathered since morning to receive him.

Khan’s sons — Adeeb and Abdullah — were also present, along with several senior leaders, including national secretary and former MLA Anup Gupta, Moradabad MP Ruchi Vira and district president Chatrapati Yadav.

“Azam Khan is the hero of the day. I am here with all his supporters to welcome him. Whatever has to be said, my father will say after coming out of jail,” Adeeb told reporters earlier in the day.

Vira said the party would celebrate “the victory of justice”.

“We had faith in the judiciary and will continue to have it. No other politician has been harassed as much as he has been,” she said.

The district administration had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to prevent any untoward incident. Despite the restrictions, supporters managed to reach near the jail in large numbers, leading to traffic congestion. Several vehicles were challaned for violating restrictions.

“There was chaos and rush despite Section 163 being in force. Vehicles were not allowed to come close to the jail, but they somehow managed to reach there. Action had to be taken to avoid further complications,” City Circle Officer Vinayak Bhosle said.

Gandhinagar, Sep 23: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said India’s ranking on the Global Innovation Index has gone up from 91 to 38 in the last decade, and expressed confidence that it would secure a position among the top 10 in the next three years.

The Startup India campaign launched under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has started showing results as India now has the third largest startup ecosystem globally, and has made the country’s youth job creators from job seekers, he said.

Shah was speaking at the inauguration of the Gujarat government’s Startup Conclave here.

“Recently, the Global Innovation Index was announced. In 2015, our ranking on this index was 91 but we have jumped to 38th rank in 2025. This indicates the potential that our people have. I am a firm believer that India will be among the top 10 countries in the next three years and dominate innovation in the world looking at the performance and abilities of our youth,” he said.

The Startup India scheme is the Indian government’s flagship initiative launched in 2016 to promote innovation and create a robust startup ecosystem, transforming India from a job-seeking to a job-creating nation.

“In 2014, we just had 500 startups. Today, we have 1.92 lakh startups registered with DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade). In 2014, we had four unicorns and now we have 120 such establishments whose combined market value is over USD 350 million,” Shah said.

Today, out of the total startups, 52 per cent are in tier-II and tier-III cities. Of the total startups, 48 per cent are initiated by women, he said.

Startup ecosystem has employed 17.90 lakh people. On an average, 17,000 startups have been set up annually and 9,000 of these are in tier-II and tier-III cities, the Union minister said.

Startup India campaign has made our youth job creators from job seekers, he said.

Shah said at the time of launch of Startup India scheme, the government was aware that it will not be a success if proper environment is not created for the same.

“Under the prime minister’s leadership, financial, infrastructure, policy and banking support has been made available to startups across the country since 2014. A fund of funds of Rs 10,000 crore has been created to help startups. To promote startups, the maximum loan limit has been increased from Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore, and various tax concessions have also been given,” he said.

He urged industry leaders to invest in startups, saying that one of them may turn into a unicorn one day and increase your wealth.

Shah further said that for the last four years, Gujarat has been leading the country in the startup sector.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and his team of ministers and government officials have jointly made Gujarat the center of the startup revolution. State is one of the top five states in the country. 16,000 startups are in Gujarat. Ahmedabad city alone is in the top-4 cities with 6,650 startups. Gujarat has become the best performing state in the startup sector for four consecutive years, he said.