The case relates to the alleged submission of fake documents to obtain flats under the state government’s quota. A magistrate’s court had on February 20 convicted Kokate and his brother Vijay Kokate, sentencing both to two years’ imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 each
The case against Manikrao Kokate was registered in 1995 at Sarkarwada police station. File Pic
In a major setback for Maharashtra Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a court in Nashik on Tuesday upheld the two-year prison sentence awarded to him in a cheating and forgery case dating back to 1995, reported the PTI.
The case relates to the alleged submission of fake documents to obtain flats under the state government’s quota. A magistrate’s court had on February 20 convicted Kokate and his brother Vijay Kokate, sentencing both to two years’ imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 each.
On Tuesday, Nashik District and Sessions Court Judge P M Badar upheld the jail term awarded by the magistrate’s court. The judge observed that the flat obtained by Kokate was not as per prescribed norms and that the state government had been deceived in the process, according to the PTI.
Earlier relief set aside by court
Following their conviction, the Kokate brothers had filed an appeal. On March 5, a sessions court had stayed the conviction and granted them bail pending the hearing of the appeal. However, the latest order has reinstated the original sentence awarded by the magistrate’s court, as per the PTI.
According to the prosecution, Manikrao Kokate and his brother were allotted two flats meant for the Low Income Group (LIG) at College Road in Yeolakar Mala area of Nashik under the Chief Minister’s 10 per cent discretionary quota.
To become eligible, the brothers allegedly made false declarations, claiming they belonged to the LIG category and did not own any residential property in the city, the news agency reported.
Complaint filed in 1995
The case was registered in 1995 at Sarkarwada police station following a complaint by former minister T S Dighole, who has since passed away. Charges of cheating, forgery and other offences under the Indian Penal Code were filed against the Kokate brothers and two others, reported the PTI.
While the magistrate’s court convicted the Kokate brothers, it acquitted the other two accused in the case.
Political impact
The court’s ruling is seen as a significant blow to the NCP leader, who currently serves as a minister in the Maharashtra government, and could have political and legal consequences in the days ahead, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)
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