Kokate forced to resign, Nashik police reach Mumbai to arrest him

Maharashtra governor Acharya Devvrat accepted the resignation and the conveyed it to Fadnavis late Thursday evening

MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Manikrao Kokate has resigned from the Maharashtra cabinet, party president and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar confirmed on Thursday, a day after a trial court in Nashik issued an arrest warrant against the Sinnar MLA in connection with a cheating and forgery case dating back over three decades.

Mumbai, India. Dec 18, 2025 - The Nashik police arrived at Lilavati Hospital to arrest NCP MLA and Minister Manikrao Kokate, who is currently admitted to the hospital. Manikrao Kokate was convicted in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. Nashik session court, which issued the arrest warrant. Mumbai, India. Dec 18, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

A Nashik police team reached Mumbai late on Thursday evening to arrest Kokate, who was admitted to Lilavati Hospital on Wednesday after complaining of high blood pressure. The police visited the hospital and consulted with doctors regarding Kokate’s treatment. The MLA’s team of lawyers was also present at the hospital, along with his family members, who reportedly requested the police to allow him to complete his medical tests before transferring him to Nashik.

Kokate was stripped of his portfolios by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday. While the Ajit Pawar-led NCP wanted to wait for the Bombay High Court’s ruling on Kokate’s petition seeking a stay on his conviction, which is scheduled to be heard on Friday, Fadnavis put his foot down and demanded his resignation, according to senior leaders aware of the developments.

If Kokate fails to get relief from the high court on Friday, he could also be disqualified as a member of the legislative assembly. Meanwhile, the Nashik police deputed a team to Mumbai to arrest the 68-year-old in accordance with the court’s order. He has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by the trial court.

Kokate sent his resignation letter to his party president, Pawar, instead of Fadnavis, who is the head of the council of ministers. His letter specified that he was tendering his resignation subject to the Bombay High Court ruling on his petition seeking a stay on the conviction.

“By obeying [the] district and sessions court decisions in my appeal on December 16, and on ethical grounds, I am tendering my resignation, subject to the HC ruling in the petition before it. Kindly accept the resignation,” the letter said.

HT graphic

Pawar announced Kokate’s resignation in a social media post on Thursday evening: “Maharashtra cabinet minister and my party colleague Shri Manikrao Kokate has submitted his resignation to me following the outcome of the Hon’ble Court’s verdict. In keeping with our party’s long-standing philosophy that the rule of law is supreme and above all individuals, the resignation has been accepted in principle. I have forwarded Shri Kokate’s resignation to the Hon’ble CM for due consideration and acceptance, in accordance with constitutional procedure.”

Maharashtra governor Acharya Devvrat accepted the resignation and the conveyed it to Fadnavis late Thursday evening.

Earlier, before the resignation was approved by Pawar as NCP chief, a backdoor drama unfolded between the ruling partners. While Pawar was insistent on delaying the resignation until the high court’s verdict, Fadnavis made it clear to his deputy that Kokate could not continue as a minister at any cost, said a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity.

“Fadnavis also told Pawar that in such cases, the high court generally does not overrule the verdicts by lower courts, and waiting for the order will lead to more criticism, that too in the middle of the local body elections. Fadnavis, in fact, had also asked to whom the departments would be handed over after divesting them from Kokate,” the BJP leader added.

After waiting for a few hours and seeing no decision from the NCP, Fadnavis put his foot down and stripped Kokate of his portfolios using his discretionary powers as the chief minister, said an NCP leader. “It was the signal to the NCP, which then swung into action. Kokate was asked to resign from the post. Pawar forwarded the resignation to the CM. Fadnavis took no time to forward it to the governor,” the leader added.

Fadnavis had taken a similar firm stand earlier this year in the case of former NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, who was forced to resign in March following his close aide’s alleged involvement in the brutal murder of a village sarpanch in Beed, which snowballed into a major political scandal.

Back then, Pawar and Munde had tried to convince Fadnavis that the MLA from Parli had no role in the murder case. However, Fadnavis had replied that he would have to sack Munde if he did not resign. Munde’s close aide, Walmik Karad, was later arrested under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

The Maharashtra assembly is also expected to take a call on Kokate’s disqualification by Friday. “We are waiting for the official order of the sessions court and expecting to get it by Friday. It has to be served by the court or the police in reasonable time. Soon after the copy is received, the disqualification notification will be issued by the state legislature as per the provisions in the Representation of the People Act,” an official from the legislature said, adding that the high court’s verdict will have no bearing on their decision unless the conviction is stayed.

Kokate and his brother, Vijay Kokate, were convicted for using forged documents to obtain two flats in a prime locality in Nashik under the chief minister’s quota for economically weaker sections in 1995. A trial court had convicted the two brothers to two years’ imprisonment in February. On Tuesday, a sessions court upheld the verdict. Kokate then rushed to the Bombay High Court to seek immediate relief, but the court declined to suspend the conviction on Wednesday and posted the matter for hearing on Friday.