New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday (October 25) dismissed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda’s plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a coal scam case to enable him to contest the upcoming state assembly polls in Jharkhand.
A bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar refused to refused to stay Koda’s conviction in the case.
Koda moved apex court against Delhi High Court order
Koda had moved the apex court against an October 18 order of the Delhi High Court dismissing his plea seeking a stay on his conviction to enable him to contest the assembly polls in Jharkhand, scheduled to be held in two phases on November 13 and November 23.
Koda, others were convicted for indulging in corrupt practices
The trial court had convicted Koda in the case finding that he abused his position as a public servant in order to obtain the allocation of Rajhara Coal Block in the state of Jharkhand in favour of a Kolkata-based company – Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited (‘VISUL’) – without any public interest.
Koda, former coal secretary HC Gupta, former Jharkhand chief secretary AK Basu and Vijay Joshi, a close aide of Koda, were awarded three years of imprisonment by the trial court 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.
While Koda had urged the High Court to suspend the December 13, 2017 order of the trial court convicting him of criminal misconduct, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which investigated the case, opposed the plea of Koda on the ground of maintainability.
High Court earlier in 2020 refused to stay Koda’s conviction
Koda had approached the High Court earlier also seeking a stay on his conviction in the case to enable him to contest for election to public offices, however, his plea was rejected by the High Court in May 2020.
