HC grants bail to former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate in cheating case; no stay to conviction

Mumbai, Dec 19 (PTI) In a partial relief to former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate, the Bombay High Court on Friday suspended his two-year jail term in a cheating and forgery case and granted him bail, but refused to stay his conviction.

Justice R N Laddha said in the order that the court cannot stay the conviction as there was prima facie evidence pointing to the NCP leader's involvement in the case where he was accused of securing a flat in a government scheme meant for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) by submitting false affidavits.

The HC noted that the jail term handed to him by the magistrate's court was only two years and he had been on bail throughout the trial and hearing of his appeal before the session's court, hence it was inclined to grant him bail.

"The application for suspension of sentence is allowed.....The applicant has to deposit a sum of Rs one lakh as surety," HC said.

Justice Laddha also admitted for hearing Kokate's revision petition against the sessions court order upholding his conviction.

But rejecting his plea for a stay to the conviction, the court said "permitting a person convicted of criminal offence (to hold a cabinet position) solely on account of suspended sentence would cause grave and irreparable prejudice to public service." It would erode public confidence in democratic institutions and demoralise those who adhere to law, the high court added.

"The balance between democratic representation and legal accountability must therefore be struck in favour of institutional integrity and public trust," Justice Laddha said.

Kokate, MLA from Sinnar, held the office of a cabinet minister, the HC said, adding, "As a holder of constitutional office, Kokate has to discharge his duties with unwavering support to the public. The office he occupies is not merely titular but is with a solemn obligation to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the collective interest of citizens.

"The fiduciary position demands a heightened standard of accountability and calls for ethical governance and public service," it added.

Justice Laddha referred to a testimony of a witness in the case, an accountant of a sugar factory to which Kokate used to supply sugarcane, and said it appeared that he had significant income at the time of the alleged offence.

Government authorities were negligent while scrutinising his documents before allotting a flat, the HC noted.

Kokate's counsel Ravi Kadam argued that the former minister was admitted to the Lilavati hospital in Bandra where he underwent an angiography and was scheduled for an SOS angioplasty on Friday afternoon.

Public prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh opposed the bail plea.

Kokate's conviction and two-year sentence by a magistrate in February this year were upheld by the Nashik sessions court on Tuesday, holding that he and his brother had dishonestly induced the state government to allot them flats.

In his appeal before the HC, Kokate termed his conviction arbitrary and illegal.

On Thursday night, he resigned from the Maharashtra cabinet. A team of Nashik police reached Bandra late Thursday night to execute the arrest warrant against him.

As the opposition clamoured for his ouster, he was divested of his portfolios on Wednesday night, and subsequently he resigned.

The case dates back to 1989-1992, concerning a housing scheme for EWS with an annual income limit of Rs 30,000.

The Nashik sessions court has noted that Kokate dishonestly "induced the state" to allot him a flat by submitting false income affidavits.

Citing bank loans for grapes and rabi crops, as well as records from the Kopargaon Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana (sugar factory), the judge said Kokate was a prosperous farmer whose income far exceeded the eligibility threshold, and he did not fall in the EWS category. PTI SP KRK