In a significant legal development, the Supreme Court of India on Monday stayed the conviction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra legislator Manikrao Kokate in a decades-old cheating and forgery case. This interim order provides crucial relief to the politician, who was facing imminent disqualification from the state legislative assembly following his conviction and a two-year jail sentence.
Court's Order and Key Conditions
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued the order, which specifically halts the consequential disqualification of Kokate as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). The court, however, imposed a critical restriction: the stay does not entitle Kokate to hold any office of profit. This means that while he retains his assembly membership, he cannot rejoin the state cabinet or hold any other remunerative government position.
The bench observed that the legal issues raised by Kokate challenging his conviction merited deeper examination, justifying the decision to stay the conviction for now. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kokate, had argued before the court that his client would suffer "irreparable damage" if the conviction was not stayed, as it would lead to his automatic disqualification as an MLA.
Long Legal Battle: From Magistrate Court to Supreme Court
The legal saga has seen several twists. On February 20 this year, a magistrate court in Nashik convicted Kokate and his brother Vijay in the forgery case, sentencing both to two years of imprisonment. This prompted an appeal to the sessions court, which initially stayed the conviction on March 5. However, in a setback in December, the sessions court upheld the magistrate's conviction order, forcing Kokate to resign from his cabinet post as the Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare.
Kokate then approached the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on his conviction, but his plea was rejected. The High Court, though, had granted him bail. This rejection led to his final appeal in the Supreme Court, which has now resulted in the stay order.
Origins of the 1995 Cheating Case
The case has its roots in a period between 1989 and 1992. It involves a housing scheme specifically reserved for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), where the annual income limit was set at Rs 30,000. The prosecution alleged that Kokate applied for a flat under this scheme meant for the poor by submitting false affidavits, leading to charges of cheating and forgery. The legal proceedings in this matter have continued for nearly three decades since the original incident.
The Supreme Court's intervention has temporarily shielded the NCP leader from political oblivion, allowing him to continue as an MLA. The final outcome, however, hinges on the apex court's eventual verdict on the merits of his appeal against the conviction itself.
