THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Oct 24: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda’s appeal on Friday to stay his conviction in a coal scam case, in order to enable him to run in the forthcoming assembly elections.
The hearing was adjourned by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Kumar, and R Mahadevan, who remarked that the case file had just been circulated this morning.
Senior Advocate R.S. Cheema represented the CBI in the case.
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Delhi HC had rejected Koda’s plea
The Delhi High Court on October 18, 2024, rejected Madhu Koda’s petition, stating that the petitioner sought a stay on the decision solely to contest the elections, which is not justified. It appears prima facie that he is guilty in this matter, so there is no substantial reason to stay the lower court’s verdict, the HC said.
The lower court found former Chief Minister Koda, former coal secretary HC Gupta, and former state chief secretary A.K. Basu, along with Koda’s associates, guilty in the coal scam. All were sentenced to three years in prison and fined by the court.
