The Supreme Court on Monday 22nd December 2025 granted partial relief to former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Manikrao Kokate by staying his conviction in a cheating and forgery case. The relief prevents his immediate disqualification as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Maharashtra government and ordered that Kokate’s conviction be stayed only to the extent that it does not lead to his disqualification as an MLA. However, the court made it clear that Kokate cannot hold any office of profit while his appeal is pending.
Kokate had approached the Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court suspended his two-year jail sentence but refused to stay his conviction. Under election law, a conviction can result in disqualification from the legislature, even if the sentence is suspended.
The case dates back to 1995, when Kokate and his brother were accused of cheating and forgery. A trial court convicted them in February this year for submitting false affidavits that understated their income. Based on these affidavits, they were allegedly allotted two government flats under a housing scheme meant for economically weaker sections. The conviction was later upheld by a Nashik sessions court.
While setting aside the suspension order Justice Bagchi of Supreme Court pointed out that “False declaration does not mean forgery. There’s a fundamental error in the conviction”
Following the sessions court’s order, Kokate was stripped of his ministerial https://ingrid.bike/ portfolios, including sports and youth welfare and minority development and auqaf. These portfolios were subsequently assigned to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar.