NASHIK: A sessions court has ordered a stay on conviction of Maharashtra’s agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate and his brother Vijay in a cheating case related to 10% EWS housing quota, registered in 1995.
A lower court had last month convicted and sentenced the Kokate brothers to two-year rigorous imprisonment. However, additional sessions judge Nitin Jiwane on Wednesday ordered a stay till the pendency of their appeal against the conviction.
This comes as a huge relief not only for Manikrao – who has been saved from disqualification from the assembly for now – but also NCP. The party has been at the receiving end of opposition’s attack over the controversies surrounding Kokate and another minister Dhananjay Munde, who on Tuesday resigned from the state cabinet due to his link with a prime accused in Beed sarpanch murder case.
On Feb 20, the court had convicted and sentenced the minister and his brother for securing a flat each under state govt’s 10% EWS housing scheme by fudging documents to show lower income.
