In a relief for Congress MLA Sunil Kedar, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has granted him bail after suspending his sentence. Kedar was convicted in December last year in an alleged scam of over Rs153 Crores while he was the chairman of a cooperative bank.
Kedar approaches HC to suspend his sentence
Kedar had approached the HC seeking suspension of his sentence awarded by a magistrate court in Nagpur. He also sought bail till hearing in his appeal against his conviction filed before the sessions court there.
Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke, while suspending his sentence on Tuesday , directed his release on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs one lakh. He was released from the Nagpur Central Prison on Wednesday .
On December 22, Kedar, a five-term MLA from Saoner in Nagpur, was sentenced to five years in jail on by a magistrate court in Nagpur for alleged criminal breach of trust in a case linked to the Nagpur district cooperative bank when he was the chairman between 1999 and 2002.
Kedar's disqualification
A day after his conviction, he was disqualified. As per the law, a legislator loses membership of the House with immediate effect if convicted in a crime and sentenced to over two years’ imprisonment. However, the disqualification can be reversed on grounds including a stay on the conviction.
The sessions court at Nagpur rejected his plea against his conviction on December 30 and also refused to stay the punishment. Hende, he approached the HC.
The case related to Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd (NDCC) with allegations that related to irregularities in transactions of the bank, which came to light during an audit first by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and then another audit on directions of the Cooperative Commissioner in 2002.
