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The bench also noted that the purpose of the said section of the Representation of People’s Act is to ensure that persons with a criminal record are not elected to public office, which is a legitimate aim in a democracy
The Bombay High Court has refused to stay the conviction and sentence imposed on Congress Leader Sunil Kedar, who was convicted in the Rs. 117 Crore Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank Limited (NDCC) bank scam case.
A single judge bench of the high court at Nagpur, comprising Justice Urmila Joshi Phadke, rejected the request to stay the conviction and sentence imposed on Kedar.
Following his conviction, Kedar was disqualified as an MLA under the Representation of People’s Act, 1951. Kedar had earlier approached the Sessions Court to stay the conviction, but his request was rejected. He then approached the high court, which also refused to grant a stay.
The five-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment by the magistrate court in December 2023.
Kedar was booked by the officials under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 468 (forgery for cheating) for the alleged scam during his tenure as the chairman of Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank in 2002.
The scam came to light after an audit was conducted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and an audit by the Cooperative Commissioner in 2002.
The high court, while refusing to stay the conviction, stated that the desire of an accused to contest elections is not in itself sufficient grounds to stay the conviction.
“Just because an accused is convicted falling under the category of Section 8(3) and he desires to contest election that by itself is not sufficient to stay the conviction mechanically,” the order reads.
The bench also noted that the purpose of the said section of the Representation of People’s Act is to ensure that persons with a criminal record are not elected to public office, which is a legitimate aim in a democracy.
“The purpose of the said Section is to ensure that a persons with criminal record are not to be elected to public office and this is legitimate aim in a democracy. Disqualifying a person who has been convicted of a serious offense from holding public office is in the interest of maintaining the integrity and credibility of the democratic process,” the order states.
Case title: Sunil Kedar vs State of Maharashtra
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