A day after Nashik sessions court convicted and awarded him two-year imprisonment document tampering for illegal acquisition of government flat, State Sports Minister and NCP leader Manikrao Kokate has approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the verdict.
Kokate, an MLA from Sinnar constituency in Nashik district, was convicted in connection with 1995 case pertaining to illegal acquisition of flats under the Chief Minister’s discretionary quota.
Kokate’s criminal revision application was mentioned before a single-judge bench of Justice Rajesh N Laddha in post-lunch session on Wednesday.
Advocate Aniket Nikam for Kokate sought urgent hearing on the plea stating that his client’s continuation as a minister was at stake due to impugned sessions court verdict.
As per Section 8 (3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, the member of the legislature convicted for any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.
However, Nikam did not seek a stay on conviction on Wednesday and the court did not pass any order in that regard. The HC said it would consider Kokate’s plea seeking suspension of conviction on December 19.
Ahead of the state cabinet meeting on Wednesday, deputy CM and NCP president Ajit Pawar held a meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, reportedly on the continuing of Kokate in the state cabinet. While the details have not emerged, the sources close to developments said that the CM has asked Pawar to take a call and also sought to know the replacement of Kokate, if he is the removed.
The Opposition, meanwhile, has questioned legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar on the delay over disqualifying Kokate. “A cabinet minister is convicted and the state government is not only keeping him in a cabinet but the state Assembly Speaker is not taking any action. This is the example of clean governance of the BJP,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal.
Plea and conviction
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In his plea before the HC, Kokate claimed that the magistrate and sessions courts wrongly held him guilty as the prosecution failed to show that the income eligibility limit of Rs 30,000 per annum for EWS flat allotment applied on the date of allotment in 1994, and not when he applied in 1989. He said the trial court “erroneously” considered his October 5, 1994 income when the flat was actually alloted. Kokate has sought quashing and setting aside of both verdicts, a stay on his conviction and pending hearing of the plea has sought direction to suspend sentence awarded to him.
On February 20 this year, the magistrate court in Nashik convicted Manikrao Kokate and his brother Vijay for offences punishable under Sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security) 471 (using genuine as forged document) and 474 (possession of forged documents) and 34 (acts done by several persons with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
In a decision on their appeal, Additional Sessions Judge P M Badar in Nashik on December 16 upheld conviction of the appellants for the offences punishable under sections 420, 465, 468 and 471 of IPC and confirmed the trial court’s verdict in that regard. The sessions court maintained magistrate court’s decision to award two-year rigorous imprisonment and directed magistrate court to take appropriate steps as per law for execution of sentences.
The case
In 1995, former minister Tukaram Dighole had alleged that Kokate brothers had fraudulently acquired flats for low-income group in Nashik. As per prosecution, the state government had in 1989 and 1992 introduced housing scheme for economically weaker sections (EWS) and excess ceiling land was given to builders for the same.
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It was alleged that the Kokate brothers submitted false income affidavits, bogus ration card documents, other false and fabricated documents and applied for flats under the said scheme and falsely showed their annual income below Rs 30, 000 to become eligible as members of low-income group.
The prosecution claimed the two obtained flats in the building constructed by Nirman builders at Vise Mala, College Road, in Nashik. It was further alleged that Manikrao Kokate, in addition to his own flat, purchased two more flats in the same building and the persons on whose name the flats were bought were not from low income group and did not reside in the said flats. Based on allegations, a complaint was lodged against the Kokate brothers at Sarkarwada police station.
The sessions judge on Tuesday observed, “During the relevant period, he (Manikrao) did not fall within the economically weaker section category, which required income not exceeding Rs 30, 000. Despite this, he obtained flat under the said scheme. Hence, I hold that by furnishing false income documents, he deceived the State Government and dishonestly induced it to allot the flat to him under the scheme meant for economically weaker section of the society.”
