Relief for Kokate as Nashik court suspends conviction order

The court suspended the sentence pending a decision on the agriculture minister’s appeal. Another appeal by the minister seeks a stay on the conviction and an order on the same is expected on Tuesday

Mumbai: A sessions court in Nashik on Monday suspended the two-year prison term handed to state agriculture minister Manikao Kokate and his brother Vijay Kokate, who were found guilty by a magistrate court of acquiring a government-quota flat by submitting fake documents.

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Shivajirao Kokate inspects a stall at the Agrotech Agriculture Exhibition in Akola in December 2024. (ANI)

The court suspended the sentence pending a decision on the agriculture minister’s appeal. Another appeal by the minister seeks a stay on the conviction and an order on the same was expected on Tuesday, his lawyers told reporters outside the court premises. The court on Monday also granted the two brothers bail on a surety of ₹1 lakh each.

The case dates back to 1995, when Kokate and his brother allegedly acquired flats under the government quota in Nashik by submitting fake documents suppressing their income. The case was registered following a complaint by Shiv Sena leader Tukaram Dighole, then MLA of Sinnar and a minister in the BJP-Shiv Sena government. The trial dragged on for three decades till last Thursday, when the Nashik district court held the Kokate brothers guilty and sentenced them to two years of imprisonment and a fine of ₹50,000 each.

Kokate’s conviction rendered him fit for disqualification under provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandate that a person cannot continue in office as a public representative upon being sentenced to prison for two or more years. Though the Nashik sessions court has now suspended Kokate’s sentence, he can still be disqualified as his conviction has not been stayed.

“I argued today for staying the sentence and the government prosecutor will appear tomorrow to present his arguments, after which the court is expected to pass an order,” the minister’s lawyer told reporters outside the court.

The Mahayuti government has been under attack since the trial court order convicting Kokate and opposition leaders have demanded his disqualification as MLA citing the instance of Congress MLA Sunil Kedar, who was disqualified within 24 hours of his conviction by a Nagpur court.