New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday junked a plea by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who moved the court seeking a stay on his conviction in a coal scam case. A stay on conviction would have enabled him to contest the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly polls.
The matter came up before a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar. The bench said several factors would have to be taken into consideration for a stay of conviction, which is not a matter of routine while declining to grant any relief.
The apex court declined to interfere with the October 18 order of the Delhi High Court refusing the stay on his conviction, which happened in 2017.
Polling for the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly will be held in two phases on November 13 and November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.
In December 2017, Koda, former coal secretary H C Gupta, former Jharkhand Chief Secretary A K Basu and Koda's close aide Vijay Joshi were sentenced to three years in prison by a trial court for alleged corrupt practices and criminal conspiracy in the allocation of the Rajhara North Coal Block in the state to Kolkata-based company Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited (VISUL).
The court had imposed fines of Rs 50 lakh, Rs 25 lakh and Rs one lakh on VISUL, Koda and Gupta, respectively, in the UPA-era coal scam. Basu was further saddled with a Rs one lakh fine. During the pendency of the appeals, the accused were granted bail.
