The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate in a cheating and forgery case linked to a government housing scheme for the economically weaker section (EWS), while suspending his two-year jail sentence. The court, however, refused to stay his conviction, observing that prima facie material indicated his involvement in the offence.
Justice R N Laddha, while allowing Kokate’s application for suspension of sentence, made it clear that suspending the conviction was not warranted. “Permitting a person convicted of criminal offence (to hold a cabinet position) solely on account of suspended sentence would cause grave and irreparable prejudice to public service,” the court observed.
Kokate had been convicted for securing a flat under an EWS housing scheme by allegedly submitting false affidavits regarding his income. The high court noted that Kokate was on bail throughout the trial before the magistrate’s court and also during the pendency of the appeal before the sessions court. Taking into account that the sentence awarded was only two years, the court said it was inclined to grant bail.
“The application for suspension of sentence is allowed,” the court said while admitting Kokate’s revision petition against the Nashik sessions court order that had upheld his conviction. The court directed him to deposit a surety amount of Rs one lakh.
During the hearing, senior advocate Ravi Kadam, appearing for Kokate, informed the court that the former minister had been admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, where he had undergone an angiography and was scheduled to undergo an SOS angioplasty later in the day. The bail plea was opposed by public prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh.
Earlier this week, the Nashik district and sessions court had upheld Kokate’s conviction. Following the order, Kokate resigned from the Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday night, where he held the sports and youth affairs portfolio. A team from the Nashik police reached Bandra late Thursday night to execute the arrest warrant against him.
The case against Kokate dates back to the period between 1989 and 1992 and relates to a government housing scheme meant for the economically weaker section, which had an annual income cap of Rs 30,000. He was accused of falsely declaring his income to secure a flat under the scheme.
While convicting him, the magistrate’s court had relied on evidence including bank loan records for grape cultivation and rabi crops, as well as documents from the Kopargaon Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana. The court noted that these records showed Kokate to be a prosperous farmer whose income was far above the eligibility limit prescribed under the EWS scheme.
