The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda’s petition seeking the suspension of his conviction and sentence in a coal scam case, so that he could contest the Jharkhand Assembly elections, Live Law reported.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar dismissed the special leave petition challenging the October 18 decision of the Delhi High Court that rejected Koda’s plea to suspend his conviction.
The former chief minister cited the Supreme Court’s judgement in the case of Bahujan Samaj Party MP Afzal Ansari, whose conviction was suspended in December 2023. However, the bench clarified that the case pertaining to Ansari was different because it involved a sitting legislator.
“Several factors have to be taken into consideration for stay of conviction, which is not a matter of routine,” the bench remarked. “In Afzal, the appellant was a sitting member of legislature. This is not a factual situation here.”
Ansari was convicted in April 2023 in a case filed under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act.
The bench said that there would be no irreversible consequences if Koda’s conviction was not stayed.
Koda, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in August, was the chief minister between September 2006 and August 2008. The BJP has fielded his wife Geeta Koda in the Jaganathpur seat in the Jharkhand polls.
In December 2017, a special court convicted Koda for offences of criminal conspiracy and corruption and sentenced him to imprisonment for three years.
Koda’s counsel pointed that under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the former chief minister is barred from contesting elections for a total of six years due to his conviction. He argued that this consists of three years of imprisonment and an additional three years mandated by law.
However, Khanna told Koda’s lawyer that the period of disqualification was six years after the jail sentence was completed, and therefore was a total of nine years.
Voting in the Jharkhand polls will be conducted in two phases on November 13 and November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23, alongside that of the Maharashtra elections.
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