New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday (October 18) dismissed a plea filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda seeking a stay on his conviction by a trial court in a coal scam case to enable him to contest the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections.
Koda had urged the High Court for suspension of the trial court’s December 13, 2017 order convicting him of criminal misconduct.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, who had earlier reserved the verdict on Koda’s plea after hearing submissions, dismissed Koda’s plea.
Koda, others were convicted for indulging in corrupt practices
The trial court convicted Koda finding that he abused his position as a public servant in order to obtain the allocation of Rajhara Coal Block in Jharkhand in favour of Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited (hereafter ‘VISUL’), a Kolkata-based company, without any public interest.
The trial court awarded Koda, former coal secretary HC Gupta, former Jharkhand chief secretary AK Basu and Vijay Joshi, Koda’s close aide, three years of imprisonment for indulging in corrupt practices and hatching a criminal conspiracy in the allocation of Rajhara North coal block. They were granted bail during the pendency of their appeals in the case.
CBI opposed Koda’s plea for stay on conviction to enable him to contest upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which investigated the case, had opposed before the High Court Koda’s plea for stay on his conviction on the ground of maintainability.
“This court (earlier while hearing Koda’s plea for stay on his conviction) took note of the increasing demand for steps to be taken for decriminalisation of politics. In keeping with this principle, this court unequivocally dismissed the application. Pertinently, no appeal was filed challenging this judgment. The applicant allowed it to attain finality,” the CBI had told the High Court in its submissions in response to Koda’s plea.
High Court earlier in 2020 refused to stay Koda’s conviction
Koda earlier also had moved the High Court for a stay on his conviction in this case to enable him to contest for election to public offices, however, the High Court refused to stay his conviction in May 2020, saying it would not be apposite to facilitate Koda to contest elections for any public office till he is finally acquitted.
“If the wider opinion is that persons charged with crimes ought to be disqualified from contesting elections to public offices, it would not be apposite for this Court to stay the appellant’s conviction to overcome the disqualification incurred by him,” the High Court had said while refusing to stay Koda’s conviction in 2020.
