Delhi High Court rejects plea by former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda to suspend conviction in coal scam

The Delhi High Court today dismissed an application filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda who had sought the suspension of his conviction by a trial court in a coal scam case [Madhu Koda vs. State though CBI].

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna passed the order dismissing Koda’s application.

Koda, who served as the Jharkhand's Chief Minister from 2006 until his resignation in 2008, was convicted by a Delhi Court in 2017 on corruption charges in the coal scam case.

The case, which was probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), involved allegations of irregularities in the allocation of the Rajhara North coal block in Jharkhand to Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd (VISUL) in 2008.

Koda was was sentenced by the trial court to three years of rigorous imprisonment in this case. He filed an appeal challenging the trial court's verdict and was granted bail during the pendency of the appeal.

He later moved a plea to suspend the conviction so that he may contest Assembly polls in Jharkhand. His three-year sentence meant that he stood disqualified from contesting the elections.

One such plea was dismissed by the Delhi High Court in 2020 when Justice Vibhu Bakhru observed that it would not be apposite to stay the conviction and help Koda contest elections till he is acquitted.

In May this year, Koda moved another plea seeking similar relief, which has been dismissed today.