Delhi HC reserves order on former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda’s plea seeking suspension of conviction to contest upcoming polls

New Delhi [India], September 3 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has reserved its order on a plea by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who is seeking a suspension of his conviction in the coal block allocation scam to enable him to contest the upcoming elections.

The bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna reserved the order after hearing arguments from both sides.

Koda’s plea stated, “The elections in Jharkhand are expected to be conducted in November 2024, and the applicant, having previously served as Chief Minister and returned as MP/MLA on multiple occasions, would be deprived of the opportunity to contest these elections if the order of his conviction is not stayed.”

The CBI opposed the application on grounds of maintainability. Senior Advocate RS Cheema and lawyer Tarannum Cheema, representing the CBI, argued that a similar application by Koda had been dismissed in May 2020. They contended that this new plea for the same relief was not maintainable.

The CBI highlighted that the earlier court had considered the need for the decriminalisation of politics and had unequivocally dismissed the application. They pointed out that Koda did not appeal the earlier judgement, allowing it to attain finality.

In 2017, a Delhi Court convicted Madhu Koda of criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act, sentencing him to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs5 lakhs.

Koda was granted bail in 2018, and the fine was stayed. However, in 2020, the Delhi High Court refused an application for a stay on the order of conviction.

Now, after four years, and with an eye on the upcoming Jharkhand elections, Koda has once again approached the Delhi High Court, seeking suspension of the conviction in light of new factual and legal developments. Koda’s plea noted that his criminal appeal has been pending since 2017, and four years have passed since the order dated May 22, 2020, but the matter has not yet been listed for hearing.