The Nashik district and sessions court also convicted his brother Sunil in the case, registered in 1995 on the complaint of former minister, late TS Dighole. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the two brothers
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Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate was on Thursday sentenced to two years' imprisonment by a court in Nashik in a 1995 case in which he was charged with submitting fake documents to get flats under a government quota, reported news agency PTI.
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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader told reporters later that the court had granted him bail, and he would move the High Court against the judgment.
The Nashik District and Sessions Court also convicted Kokate's brother Sunil in the case, filed on the complaint of former minister, late TS Dighole, 30 years ago, PTI reported. The two brothers have to additionally pay a fine of Rs 50,000 each, the court ruled.
Two others have been acquitted in the case.
If he does not get any relief from the high court, Kokate could be disqualified as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), PTI reported.
Talking to reporters, the minister said the case was filed by Dighole because of political enmity.
"I have decided to file an appeal against the verdict. We will do everything in accordance with the law....we will go to the High Court. I have been granted bail by the sessions court," he told reporters following his conviction.
As per the prosecution, Kokate and Sunil were allotted two flats meant for the Low Income Group (LIG) on College Road in Yeolakar Mala area of Nashik under the Chief Minister's 10 per cent discretionary quota. To be eligible, they made false claims of belonging to the LIG category and not owning a house in the city, it was alleged.
After Dighole approached the cops, a case of cheating, forgery and other offences under the Indian Penal Code was registered against the Kokate brothers and two others at Sarkarwada Police Station in Nashik.
Meanwhile, following Kokate's conviction, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has called for the minister's resignation.
Kokate is the second minister of the Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP in the Mahayuti government of Maharashtra to find himself in trouble. His cabinet colleague Dhananjay Munde is also facing the heat after a close aide was arrested in an extortion case related to the brutal murder of a village sarpanch in Beed district in December 2024.
(With PTI inputs)
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