Maha: Convicted minister Kokate quits after court verdict in cheating case

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Manikrao Kokate resigned from the Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday, a day after a court upheld his conviction and two-year prison sentence in a nearly three-decade-old cheating and forgery case, triggering sharp reactions from the Opposition even as the ruling coalition sought to project adherence to the rule of law.

Announcing the resignation, NCP president and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said Kokate had stepped down in line with the party’s position that the supremacy of law must prevail over individual office-holders. Pawar confirmed that Kokate’s resignation letter, submitted to him earlier in the day, had been forwarded to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for further action, as required under constitutional procedure.

Kokate had already been divested of all ministerial portfolios on Wednesday following the Nashik district and sessions court verdict. He was holding the sports and youth welfare, minority development and aukaf departments in the BJP-led Mahayuti government, in which the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction is a key coalition partner.

Kokate has become the second minister from the NCP to resign in 2025 and it comes just a year after the BJP-led coalition stormed back to power on the back of massive mandate in the 2024 Assembly polls. His party colleague Dhananjay Munde resigned from the Cabinet in March after his close associate Walmik Karad was named the prime accused in the brutal murder of a village sarpanch in Beed district.

“The resignation follows a court verdict, and our party has always maintained that laws and rules are paramount,” Pawar said in a statement, adding that public life must be rooted in constitutional morality, institutional integrity and respect for the judiciary. The NCP, he said, had full faith in the legal process and remained committed to safeguarding democratic values and public trust.

The Opposition, however, accused the government of acting belatedly and only after judicial compulsion left it with little choice. Congress leaders said Kokate should have been made to step down immediately after his conviction was upheld, arguing that the delay reflected the ruling alliance’s selective approach to accountability. Senior Congress figures also questioned why Kokate was allowed to continue in office until an arrest warrant was issued.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders echoed the criticism, alleging that ministers facing serious criminal convictions were being protected as long as it suited the ruling dispensation. They argued that the resignation was less a moral stand and more an act of damage control forced by an adverse court order, warning that such cases eroded public confidence in governance.

The resignation comes at a sensitive moment for the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which has sought to project itself as a responsible stakeholder within the Mahayuti government and distance itself from allegations of political opportunism. Party insiders said the swift acceptance of Kokate’s resignation was intended to send a message to allies and critics alike that the faction would not risk embarrassment to the coalition.

On Tuesday, the Nashik court upheld the conviction and sentence awarded by a first-class judicial magistrate in a 1995 case involving cheating and forgery linked to a government housing scheme. Kokate was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000. His appeal against the magistrate’s order was dismissed, closing off his immediate legal remedies at the district level.

Following the dismissal of his appeal, the court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against Kokate, sharply escalating the situation and making his continuation in the cabinet untenable. Legal experts noted that under established norms and Supreme Court guidelines, a conviction carrying a prison sentence places elected representatives under immediate disqualification pressure, regardless of their intention to pursue further appeals.

Opposition parties said the case underscored what they described as a pattern of ethical double standards, accusing the ruling alliance of invoking probity selectively while routinely targeting political rivals over corruption allegations. They also demanded greater clarity on whether similar action would be taken against other ministers facing criminal proceedings.

While Kokate is expected to explore legal options, including approaching a higher court for relief, party leaders have made it clear that his ministerial exit was unavoidable under the circumstances.

With PTI inputs