MUMBAI: A court in Nashik has suspended the two-year jail sentence given to Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate in a case dating back to 1995. Kokate was convicted for allegedly submitting fake documents to obtain government quota flats.The court is set to hear an appeal on Tuesday filed by the minister, who is an NCP leader, and his brother Sunil Kokate against their conviction.On February 20, the Nashik district and sessions court found both brothers guilty but acquitted two others accused in the case. The case was originally registered in 1995 based on a complaint by former minister, the late T S Dighole. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them.On Monday, Manikrao and Sunil Kokate filed an appeal against their conviction before District Judge-1 and Additional Sessions Judge (Nashik) N V Jiwane. The judge approved their plea for suspension of the sentence and sought a response from the prosecution regarding their appeal.The court also granted them bail, requiring each to furnish a personal bond and a surety bond of Rs 1 lakh until a final decision is made on their appeal.According to the prosecution, the Kokate brothers were allotted two flats meant for the Low Income Group (LIG) under the chief minister’s 10 per cent discretionary quota. The flats were located on College Road in Yeolakar Mala, Nashik. The prosecution alleged that to qualify, they falsely claimed to belong to the LIG category and declared that they did not own any houses in the city.Following Dighole’s complaint, a case was registered at Sarkarwada police station under charges of cheating, forgery, and other offences under the Indian Penal Code against the Kokate brothers and two others.
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