Nasik: Maharashtra sports minister Manikrao Kokate is likely to be arrested unless he succeeds in obtaining bail from the Bombay High Court.
The Nasik district sessions court, on Wednesday, issued an arrest warrant against the NCP MLA for alleged cheating and forgery to obtain two apartments under the chief minister’s 10 per cent housing quota, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The sessions court, on Tuesday, had upheld the order of the First Class Magistrate’s court by confirming the two years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 for falsifying the income proof documents to get apartments.
After the court order, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to discuss the matter and possible names as a replacement for Kokate once he resigns after the arrest. Pawar has sought time for the same.
Kokate is now admitted to a hospital after complaining of chest pain and uneasiness, it has been reported. He had earlier approached the district court against the judgment of the first-class court that had sentenced him to two years.
The district court, however, refused to change the verdict, and upheld the junior court’s order. Unless the High Court grants him relief, Kokate stands to lose his ministerial position and face a two-year prison sentence.
Kokate was convicted in connection with the illegal acquisition of two flats under the Chief Minister’s discretionary quota.
Kokate and his brother Sunil Kokate were convicted for offences punishable under Sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 474 (possession of forged documents) and 34 (acts done by several persons with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case against Kokate was registered in 1995 on the complaint of former minister, late T S Dighole.
As per the prosecution complaint, Kokate and his brother were allotted two flats meant for the Low Income Group (LIG) on College Road in Yeolakar Mala area under the chief minister’s 10 per cent discretionary quota.
If arrested, Kokate will face disqualification as an MLA, as per the Representation of People Act, 1951.
As per Section 8 (3) of the said Act, “a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.”
