Cong MLA Sunil Kedar arrested, likely to be ousted from assembly

Former minister and Congress MLA Sunil Kedar, convicted in a bank scam, is likely to lose his membership of the assembly as the Nagpur police have informed the speaker about his sentence. Kedar was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹12.5 lakh for diverting bank funds to private entities. He was arrested and admitted to hospital after complaining of uneasiness and chest pain. According to the Representation of People Act, a person convicted and sentenced to at least two years in prison is disqualified from being a member of parliament or a legislative assembly.

MUMBAI: Former minister and Congress MLA Sunil Kedar, who was arrested on Friday following his conviction in a two-decade-old, ₹150-crore co-operative bank scam, is likely to lose his membership of the assembly. Speaker Rahul Narwekar is expected to disqualify him, as the Nagpur police have informed him about Kedar’s sentence.

HT Image

On Friday, a special court in Nagpur sentenced Kedar to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹12.5 lakh. The senior leader was accused of diverting bank funds to private entities for the purchase of government securities, leading to substantial financial losses for the Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCCB).

Soon after the verdict, the five-term MLA from Savner assembly constituency in Nagpur was arrested by the police. By late night, he began complaining of uneasiness and chest pain. He was admitted to the Nagpur government hospital, and was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after medical tests were conducted.

“We have received information about his conviction and arrest from the Nagpur police. The speaker will soon be taking a decision on his disqualification as an MLA,” said a senior official from the speaker’s office.

According to Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act, a person convicted of a crime and sentenced to at least two years in prison is disqualified from being a member of parliament or a member of a legislative assembly. The Supreme Court on July 10, 2013, while disposing of the Lily Thomas versus the Union of India case, ruled that any MP, MLA or member of a legislative council (MLC) who was convicted of a crime and given a minimum of two years’ imprisonment, would lose membership of the House with immediate effect.

“If there is no stay on a conviction, a member is liable to be disqualified under the provisions of the Representation of People Act with immediate effect. The speaker will have to issue a notification to this effect,” said Dr Anant Kalse, former secretary of the state legislature. Even after completion of his sentence of five years, Kedar will not be able to contest elections for another six years, he pointed out.

The case is over two decades old, and Kedar, chairman of the NDCCB when the scam surfaced in 2002, was the prime accused. It was alleged that during his tenure, companies from Mumbai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad purchased government bonds worth Rs125 crore using bank funds, which they failed to repay. The cooperative department auditor, taking into account the bank interest during the period, had pegged the value of the scam at ₹150 crore.