Kokate gets SC stay on conviction

The Supreme Court of India on Monday stayed the conviction of senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Manikrao Kokate in a 1995 cheating case, to the limited extent that he will not face any resultant disqualification as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).

- FPJ News Service

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order while issuing notice on Kokate’s plea challenging a Bombay High Court order, which had suspended his sentence but refused to stay his conviction.

While granting limited relief, the Supreme Court clarified that “that will not entitle the petitioner to hold an office of profit”, Live Law reports.

During the hearing, Justice Bagchi remarked, “false declaration does not make a document forgery… there is a fundamental error in the conviction”.