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Court calls Maharashtra minister Kokate 'prosperous' farmer, says he dishonestly induced state

Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) Maharashtra Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate "dishonestly induced" the state government to allot him a flat meant for the economically weaker section of society, a Nashik court has held, upholding his two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. The court noted that the minister was a "prosperous" farmer. However, the court granted him partial relief by setting aside the lower court's order to cancel the flat allotments, citing lack of jurisdiction for a criminal court to issue such civil directions. On February 20 this year, a magistrate court convicted Kokate, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, and his brother Vijay Kokate. The duo was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the case, which pertained to submitting fake documents to get flats under the state government quota. On their appeal, a sessions court had stayed their conviction on March 5. On Tuesday, Nashik District and Sessions Court Judge PM Badar upheld the jail term handed to minister Kokate by the magistrate's court. The case pertains to the period between 1989 and 1992, when the state government introduced a housing scheme reserved for the needy, defined as persons with an annual income not exceeding Rs 30,000. The brothers were accused of submitting false affidavits declaring that their income was below this threshold. They were subsequently allotted flats in the Vise Mala area of Nashik in 1994. In the order, a copy of which was made available on Wednesday, the court based on evidence from the Kopargaon Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana (sugar factory) and loan statements to conclude that the accused were "prosperous farmers". Farm loan statements also indicate that each of them obtained agricultural loans independently, the court said. The brothers had been obtaining loans for cultivating Rabi crops as well as grapes on their agricultural land since 1992. They had also taken a loan for the installation of a sprinkler system in their field, the order noted. The brothers availed substantial loans from time to time, which were also duly repaid, said the court, also citing their income from sugarcane sale during this period and other sources. "I hold that on the basis of this evidence, any prudent person would act upon the supposition that Manikrao was a prosperous farmer and that his annual income must have been above Rs 30,000 during the relevant period," the court said. The judge noted that Kokate had applied for the flat in 1989, but it was allotted in 1994. If Kokate had a higher income during this time, "it was incumbent upon him to inform the government of such change in his economic status and to withdraw his application", the judge said. The court also held that Kokate did not fall within the economically weaker section category, which required the applicant's income not to exceed Rs 30,000. Despite this, he obtained a flat under the said scheme, the court said. "Hence, I hold that by furnishing false income documents, he deceived the state government and dishonestly induced it to allot the flat to him under the scheme meant for the economically weaker section of the society," it said. The court agreed with the trial court's "finding of guilt" for offences that upheld the core convictions under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery),468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), and 471 (dishonestly using forged document). The accused were granted partial acquittal for offences under IPC sections 467 (forgery of valuable security) and 474 (possession of forged documents). On the magistrate's court order for the cancellation of allotment of flats, the sessions judge stated that the trial court, being a criminal court, lacked jurisdiction to issue such directions to the state government. The court said its jurisdiction was "confined to determining whether the prosecution had succeeded" in proving the IPC charges levelled against the accused. "Consequently, I hold that the direction issued by the trial court to the state government to take necessary steps for cancellation of the appellants' flat allotments and for restoration of possession is unsustainable and liable to be set aside for want of jurisdiction," the court said. As per the prosecution, Kokate and his brother were allotted two flats meant for the Low Income Group on College Road in Nashik under the chief minister's 10 per cent discretionary quota. To be eligible, they made false claims of belonging to the LIG category and not owning a house in the city, it was alleged. PTI AVI NR

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