Supreme Court refuses to suspend conviction of former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to the suspend the conviction of former Jharkhand Chief Minister in a coal scam case. [Madhu Koda vs. State though Central Bureau of Investigation]

He had sought suspension of his conviction to contest the upcoming State Assembly elections.

A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and PV Sanjay Kumar upheld a Delhi High Court order that had refused to allow the same.

However, Koda was given liberty to seek early hearing of his pending appeal in the matter.

Senior Advocate RS Cheema appeared for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Delhi High Court had on October 18 dismissed an application filed by the former Jharkhand Chief Minister in this regard.

This led to the instant appeal before the apex court filed through advocate Yoothica Pallavi.

Koda, who served as the Jharkhand's Chief Minister from 2006 until his resignation in 2008, was convicted by a Delhi court in 2017 for corruption 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 then 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 can contest in the upcoming Assembly polls in Jharkhand. His three-year sentence had meant that he stood disqualified from contesting the elections.

One such plea was dismissed by the Delhi High Court in 2020. In May this year, Koda moved another plea seeking similar relief, which was also dismissed.

He challenged the same before the Supreme Court.