NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, in its order on Friday, refused to stay the conviction of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda in a coal scam case.
Koda had initially moved the Delhi High Court seeking suspension of the December 2017 conviction order to contest the Jharkhand Assembly polls however, his appeal was rejected on October 18.
Following this, he moved the apex court, seeking its direction to contest the upcoming state assembly polls.
On December 13, 2017, Koda, and several others were sentenced to three years in prison by a trial court for indulging in corrupt practices and hatching a criminal conspiracy in the allocation of the Rajhara North Coal Block in the state to Kolkata-based company Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited (VISUL).
Under the Representation of the People (RP) Act, a leader/politician convicted of a crime and sentenced to at least two years in jail is immediately disqualified as an MP, MLA or a member of a state legislative council (MLC). The person remains disqualified for six years after being released from prison.
On Friday, the two-judge bench of the apex court, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and also comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar refused to interfere with the October 18 order of the Delhi High Court refusing the stay on his conviction.
Koda in his appeal said that the apex court should stay his conviction and should do this after relying upon its 2023 judgment in Afjal Ansari vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, as it had suspended the conviction of BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) legislator Afsal Ansari.
The bench, however, did not find any merit in Koda's prayers, and said, the judgment which was cited by the petitioner, was a case of the sitting legislator. "We are dismissing the appeal," the bench of the apex court said.
It is to be noted that the polling for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly will be held in two phases on November 13 and November 20, respectively, and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.
Koda's application was opposed by the probe agency, CBI, on the grounds of maintainability.