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Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda has again knocked on the doors of the Delhi High Court, seeking suspension of the order of his conviction in the coal block allocation scam case.
Koda's plea states, "The elections in Jharkhand are expected to be conducted in November 2024, and the applicant, previously being the Chief Minister and returni MP, MLA on multiple occasions, would be deprived of the opportunity to contest these elections if the order of his conviction is not stayed." On Wednesday, during the hearing, the CBI opposed the plea and objected to the maintainability of the petition. CBI stated that the High Court had earlier, with a reasoned order, dismissed the similar plea. After hearing the parties, the Delhi HC issued a notice in the matter and fixed the hearing on the maintainability of the application for August 13, 2024. Earlier, the Delhi Court had convicted Madhu Koda in 2017 for criminal misconduct and under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, sentencing him to three years of rigorous imprisonment and also imposing a fine of Rs 5 lakh. Later, in 2018, Koda was granted bail and a stay on the fine. However, the Delhi High Court had in 2020 refused the application for a stay on the order of conviction. Now, after four years and wishing to contest in the upcoming assembly elections in Jharkhand, Koda has approached the Delhi High Court seeking suspension of the order of conviction citing new factual and legal developments. Koda, in his plea, submits that the criminal appeal of the applicant has been pending since 2017, and four years have passed since the order dated May 22, 2020--but the matter has not been listed for hearing. (ANI)
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