Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate moves HC against conviction; hearing on Dec 19

Mumbai, Dec 17 Maharashtra Sports Minister and NCP leader Manikrao Kokate on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court, challenging his conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case.

Kokate's lawyer, Aniket Nikam, mentioned the plea before a single bench of Justice R N Laddha, seeking an urgent hearing.

The court posted it for hearing on Friday.

Nikam, however, did not seek a stay on the conviction on Wednesday, so no order was passed to that effect.

He submitted to HC that Kokate was set to lose his ministry and that the Nashik sessions court, which upheld the conviction order of a magistrate's court, had stayed the conviction.

The high court said it would consider Kokate's plea for suspension of the conviction on Friday.

The Nashik court, while upholding the lower court order of February 20 this year, noted on Tuesday that Kokate had "dishonestly induced" the state government to allot him a flat meant for the economically weaker section of society.

The court also noted that the minister was a "prosperous" farmer.

Asked about Kokate's status as MLA following the conviction, state assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday said he has not yet received a certified copy of the court order.

On February 20 this year, a magistrate court convicted Kokate, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, and his brother Vijay Kokate. The duo was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the case, which pertained to submitting fake documents to get flats under the state government quota.

On their appeal, a sessions court had stayed their conviction on March 5.

Nashik District and Sessions Court Judge PM Badar on Tuesday upheld the jail term handed to minister Kokate by the magistrate's court.

The case pertains to the period between 1989 and 1992, when the state government introduced a housing scheme reserved for the needy, defined as persons with an annual income not exceeding Rs 30,000.

The brothers were accused of submitting false affidavits declaring that their income was below this threshold. They were subsequently allotted flats in the Vise Mala area of Nashik in 1994.

The sessions court agreed with the trial court's "finding of guilt" for offences that upheld the core convictions under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (dishonestly using forged document).

The accused were granted partial acquittal for offences under IPC sections 467 (forgery of valuable security) and 474 (possession of forged documents).

As per the prosecution, Kokate and his brother were allotted two flats meant for the Low Income Group on College Road in Nashik under the chief minister's 10 per cent discretionary quota.

To be eligible, they made false claims of belonging to the LIG category and not owning a house in the city, it was alleged.