Maharashtra Sports Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Manikrao Shivaji Kokate has moved the Bombay High Court challenging his conviction and two-year jail term in a 30-year-old cheating and forgery case linked to a housing scheme for the economically weaker section (EWS).
The plea was mentioned on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) before Justice R.N. Laddha for urgent hearing, hours after a Nashik court upheld his conviction and issued an arrest warrant, escalating the risk of Mr. Kokate losing his Cabinet berth and Assembly seat.
Mr. Kokate is currently admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai as he has taken ill, his advocate told The Hindu.
On Tuesday (December 16), Additional Sessions Judge P.M. Badar of the Nashik District and Sessions Court confirmed Mr. Kokate’s conviction under Sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 471 (using forged document) read with Section 34 IPC, while acquitting him of charges under Sections 467 and 474 IPC. The court directed the Magistrate to take steps for execution of the jail term. On Wednesday (December 17), an arrest warrant was issued against the Minister after he failed to appear in court.
The Magistrate’s court had, on February 20, 2025, sentenced Mr. Kokate and his brother Vijay to two years’ rigorous imprisonment and levied a fine of ₹10,000 on each count, with sentences to run concurrently. Both were convicted for allegedly misrepresenting their income to obtain flats under the EWS quota in Nashik.
The arrest application was filed by Anjali Dighole Rathod, daughter of former Maharashtra minister T.S. Dighole, who had originally lodged the complaint in 1995.
Mr. Kokate’s counsel Aniket Nikam on Wednesday (December 17) told the High Court that the Minister faces an “imminent threat of losing his Ministry and Assembly seat” following the conviction. The court posted the matter for hearing on Friday (December 19). The Minister has sought a stay on his conviction pending hearing of his revision plea.
The prosecution alleged that Mr. Kokate applied for a flat on September 11, 1989, declaring his annual income as ₹30,000 in an affidavit dated September 8, 1989. The flat was allotted to him in October 1994 under the Chief Minister’s 10% discretionary quota. His brother Vijay applied in April 1994 and received a flat later that year.
The FIR was lodged on December 12, 1995, by Additional Collector Vishwanath Patil, accusing the brothers of submitting false affidavits and income certificates to secure flats meant for persons earning less than ₹30,000 annually. The Magistrate convicted them after a protracted trial spanning nearly three decades.
Judge Badar held that Mr. Kokate’s income during the relevant period far exceeded the prescribed limit. “I hold that before Flat No. 4 was allotted to him, appellant/accused No. 1 could have informed the government that his income exceeded ₹30,000 per year and could have withdrawn his application. However, he concealed this fact and accepted the flat allotted by the government under a scheme meant for economically weaker sections,” the judge said.
The court relied on testimony from Balasaheb Narode, an accountant at Kopargaon Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana, who stated that Mr. Kokate earned ₹35,016 from sugarcane sales in 1993-94 and ₹1,15,762 in 1994-95. “This clearly shows that his annual income was well above ₹30,000,” the judge noted.
On Vijay Kokate, the court observed, “When both sources of income — service and business — are considered together, his total annual income would amount to ₹59,000. Despite this, he obtained Flat No. 3 under the said scheme. Hence, I hold that by furnishing false income documents, he deceived the State government.”
In the petition drafted by advocate Shrishailya S. Deshmukh, Mr. Kokate argues that both courts erred by considering his income in 1994 instead of 1989, when eligibility was determined, “The eligibility of the applicant was determined prior to 17.11.1989. The finding that false documents were submitted is perverse and contrary to record.”
The petition contends that the prosecution failed to prove his income exceeded ₹30,000 in 1989 and that “dishonest intention must exist at inception” for Section 420 of the IPC to apply. It also cites a civil court decree dated September 13, 2004, which quashed the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s cancellation notice of June 1996, arguing that “the foundation of the criminal proceedings no longer survives”.
Among other grounds, Mr. Kokate asserts that the interpretation adopted by the lower courts would have “disastrous consequences” for welfare schemes, as applicants cannot be expected to remain under the income threshold during long delays between application and allotment.
Mahayuti government faces flak
The upholding of the conviction of the NCP leader has landed the Mahayuti Government in another controversy, attracting criticism from the Opposition for protecting the Minister. Mr. Kokate must be disqualified, Opposition parties demanded on Wednesday (December 17).
Congress leaders Harshwardhan Sapkal and Varsha Gaikwad demanded his dismissal, alleging that the Mahayuti Government had been shielding him even though the court had upheld his conviction in a forgery case.
“No action has been taken despite the arrest warrant being issued. He is unreachable since the court verdict. The government is trying to save him as it did Parth Pawar, the son of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar,” said Mr. Sapkal, adding that the government’s actions amounted to a “cruel mockery of democracy”.
Ms. Gaikwad lashed out against the “arrogance of power” wielded by the government and the difference in treatment of Opposition leaders.
“When the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Sunil Kedar were convicted, action was taken within 24 hours,” she posted on X.
NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Rohit Pawar demanded that the Minister resign and that is his resignation be accepted by the government immediately.
Since Tuesday (December 16), Mr. Kokate has remained incommunicado. He skipped the State Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (December 17). His lawyers said he has been hospitalised due to chest pain and sought “some time for his surrender”.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar have held discussions on the matter, it is learnt.
Following the court’s verdict, Mr. Kokate stands to be disqualified under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that mandates disqualification of elected representatives sentenced to jail for two years or more.
