Bombay High Court Unmoved by Appeal in Agriculture Minister's Case

The Bombay High Court has refused to interfere with a Nashik sessions court's stay on the conviction of Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. The decision came after Manikrao Kokate and his brother were appealing their conviction by a Nashik magistrate court.

The Bombay High Court has chosen not to interfere in the Nashik sessions court's decision to stay the conviction of Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. The decision was announced despite a challenge filed by Anjali Rathod, daughter of former minister late Tukaram Dighole, who was not the original complainant in the matter.

The appeal was brought before Justice R N Laddha, who ruled that the previous session court's decision would remain intact for now. The Nashik court's initial ruling in February involved sentences of two years in prison for Kokate and his brother Sunil, who were accused of using fake documents to procure government-allocated flats. However, the appeal to suspend this conviction was granted on March 5, on the grounds that disqualification from office could lead to an "irreversible situation" requiring costly re-elections.

The high court has postponed the matter for further hearing on April 21 and has issued notices to the involved parties, including the state government and the Kokate brothers. Manikrao Kokate currently represents the Sinnar assembly constituency in Nashik and is an influential member of the Nationalist Congress Party.

(With inputs from agencies.)