HC grants bail to Manikrao Kokate, but refuses to stay his conviction

A single-judge bench of justice RN Laddha noted that prima facie evidence pointed to the NCP MLA’s involvement in committing the crime

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday suspended the two-year jail sentence imposed on former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate in a cheating and forgery case dating back over three decades, and also granted him bail.

HC grants bail to Manikrao Kokate, but refuses to stay his conviction

However, a single-judge bench of justice RN Laddha refused to stay Kokate’s conviction, which could have prevented his disqualification as a member of the legislative assembly, noting that prima facie evidence pointed to his involvement in committing the crime.

“Permitting a person convicted of a criminal offence (to hold an office like a cabinet berth) solely on account of a suspended sentence would cause grave and irreparable prejudice to public service,” justice Laddha said, while refusing to stay the conviction.

The bench also admitted the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader’s appeal against the orders of a first-class magistrate court in Nashik, which convicted him, and the Nashik sessions court, which upheld the magistrate court’s judgment. Kokate was granted bail during the pendency of the appeal.

The high court suspended Kokate’s two-year jail term and granted him bail on furnishing a personal bond of ₹1 lakh and one or two sureties of the same amount. The bench noted that he was on bail throughout the trial before the magistrate court and during the pendency of the appeal before the sessions court. The court took into consideration that the sentence was only for two years’ imprisonment.

Kokate had approached the high court on Thursday, soon after the additional chief judicial magistrate in Nashik issued an arrest warrant against him. The warrant was issued after the Nashik sessions court, on December 16, upheld the magistrate court’s February order convicting Kokate and his brother, Vijay Kokate, of using forged documents to obtain four flats in a government housing scheme in Nashik meant for the economically weaker section of society.

During the high court hearing on Friday, the five-time MLA’s counsel, senior advocate Ravi Kadam, argued that he was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, where he underwent an angiography, and was scheduled to have an emergency angioplasty later in the day.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar said the state legislature would wait till it receives a copy of the high court’s order before deciding on Kokate’s disqualification. “We are waiting for the official high court order, which is expected to be obtained by the chief secretary of Maharashtra. There is no clarity about the actual order by the high court,” he said.

According to the officials from the state legislature, the notification of the suspension will be issued once the official court order is received. “We will also refer to the sessions court’s order upholding the district court’s conviction order. The suspension would be from the day of the sessions court order as per the Representation of the People Act,” said an official from the state legislature.

NCP general secretary Suraj Chavan said Kokate submitted his resignation on ethical grounds. “Our party chief, Ajit Pawar, would ensure his respectable rehabilitation. The constitution has the provision of protection to the elected representatives,” he said.