New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the conviction of former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate in a decades-old cheating and forgery case, clarifying that he will not face disqualification as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). However, the court directed that Kokate shall not hold any office of profit during the pendency of the matter.
A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Maharashtra government while hearing Kokate’s plea. “Issue notice. In the meanwhile, conviction of petitioner shall remain stayed to the extent that there shall be no disqualification as a member of legislative assembly. However, he shall not hold any office of profit,” the bench said.
Kokate, an MLA from the Sinnar constituency in Nashik district, was convicted in February this year by a magistrate’s court, which sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment in a cheating and forgery case. The Nashik sessions court upheld the conviction on December 16, holding that Kokate and his brother had dishonestly induced the state government to allot them flats under a housing scheme meant for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).
The case relates to the period between 1989 and 1992 and concerns a government housing scheme for EWS beneficiaries with an annual income ceiling of ₹30,000. The courts found that Kokate had allegedly secured a flat by submitting false income affidavits.
On December 19, the Bombay High Court suspended Kokate’s two-year jail sentence and granted him bail, noting that he had been on bail throughout the trial and appeal proceedings. However, the high court refused to stay his conviction, citing prima facie evidence of his involvement in the offence.
In its order, the high court observed that records, including bank loans taken for grape cultivation and rabi crops, as well as documents from the Kopargaon Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana (sugar factory), showed that Kokate was a prosperous farmer. The court held that his income exceeded the eligibility limit for the EWS category and that he had dishonestly induced the state to allot him a flat.
Following the upholding of his conviction, Kokate faced mounting political pressure from the opposition. He was divested of his ministerial portfolios on December 17 and resigned from the Maharashtra cabinet a day later. On the night of December 18, a team from the Nashik police arrived in Bandra to execute an arrest warrant against him.
In his appeal, Kokate has maintained that his conviction is arbitrary and illegal. The Supreme Court’s interim relief now allows him to continue as an MLA, though he remains barred from holding any office of profit until further orders.
