NCP minister Manikrao Kokate may quit as Nashik court issues arrest warrant
Manikrao Kokate, 68-year-old MLA from Sinnar in Nashik district, is the sports, youth welfare and minority affairs minister in the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra
Mumbai: A first-class magistrate court in Nashik on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Manikrao Kokate, a day after a Nashik sessions court convicted him in a cheating and fraud case dating back over three decades.
Kokate, the 68-year-old Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Sinnar in Nashik district, may have to resign from his post as sports, youth welfare and minority affairs minister in the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra and also stands to be disqualified as an MLA following the court’s verdict.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951, mandates disqualification for elected representatives sentenced to two years or more in a criminal case.
According to the prosecution, Manikrao and his brother, Vijay Kokate, acquired two flats under a government quota meant for economically weaker sections in 1995 by submitting fabricated documents that suppressed their income.
A case was registered following a complaint filed by Shiv Sena leader and then minister Tukaram Dighole.
Kokate had challenged the judgment of a first-class magistrate court in February this year, which convicted him on charges of cheating and forgery. After nearly nine months of hearings, additional sessions judge P.M. Badar on Tuesday upheld the magistrate court’s verdict.
The first-class magistrate court in Nashik on Wednesday was hearing an application filed by complainant Anjali Dighole seeking the issuance of an arrest warrant against the minister.
“The honourable court has issued an arrest warrant against the minister Manikrao Kokate. It stated that either the minister should surrender or the police should arrest him,” said advocate Ashutosh Rathod, who appeared on behalf of Dighole.
Wednesday’s order was issued under Section 418 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which deals with the execution of imprisonment sentences and mandates that courts issue warrants to send convicted persons to jail for life or long-term sentences if the accused is not present.
“Kokate’s lawyer informed the court that the minister is recuperating at a government hospital in Mumbai and that the same should be considered, but the court refused, saying that the law is equal for all,” Rathod said.
Kokate, who has remained incommunicado since Tuesday, also skipped the state cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Opposition parties have demanded the immediate sacking of Kokate as minister and his disqualification as an MLA.
A Nashik court has issued an arrest warrant for NCP minister Manikrao Kokate after his conviction for cheating and fraud dating back 30 years. The 68-year-old MLA faces potential resignation and disqualification under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The case stemmed from allegations of acquiring government flats using forged documents.