In a significant relief to Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate and his brother Shivaji Kokate, the Nashik District Sessions Court has stayed the two-year imprisonment sentence and 50,000 rupees fine imposed on them by a lower court in a fraud case dating back three decades. This decision also temporarily prevents Mr Kokate from being disqualified as an MLA.

The conviction was related to the illegal acquisition of two flats under the Chief Minister’s discretionary quota. Manikrao Kokate, a five-time MLA from Sinnar in Nashik district, is currently aligned with the NCP led by Ajit Pawar. The court had also imposed a fine of 50,000 rupees on the NCP leader. His brother, Shivaji Kokate, was similarly convicted in the case, which dates back to 1995. The case was filed by former minister Tukaram Dighole, who accused the Kokate brothers of forging documents to fraudulently obtain flats in the Nirman View Apartment, located on College Road in Yeolekar Mala, Nashik.