On Friday, the High Court of Delhi dismissed a plea filed by Ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda seeking a stay on his conviction order in a coal block allocation case, so that he can contest elections.
A Single-Judge bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru while dismissing the petition filed by Madhu Koda said that "It would not be apposite to facilitate the appellant to contest elections for any public office, till he is finally acquitted".
The Court, while hearing his plea seeking stay on the conviction order to contest for election to public offices, including contest elections for the Legislative Assembly, said that it is of the view that the appellant Koda has a prima facie case, however, the court is not persuaded to accept that his conviction is liable to be stayed on this ground alone.
The Court said that "The appellant has been convicted of an offence after trial. One of the consequences of the conviction is that the appellant is not qualified to run for public office. While it is contended that this would lead to injustice & irreversible consequences, the court must also consider wider ramifications of the same".
"In recent times, there has been an increasing demand that steps be taken for decriminalization of politics. A large number of persons with criminal antecedents or those charged with heinous crimes stand for & are elected to Legislative Assemblies & the Parliament," the Court added.
The court said that if the wider opinion is that persons charged with crimes ought to be disqualified from contesting elections to public offices, it would not be apposite for the Court to stay the appellant's conviction to overcome the disqualification incurred by him.
Koda, along with others, was convicted by the trial court in Dec 2017 for criminal misconduct & abusing his position as a public servant & favouring the allocation of Rajhara Coal Block to Vini Iron & Steel Udyog Limited.
Koda was the CM of Jharkhand from September 2006 to Aug 23, 2008.
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