Supreme Court Refuses To Stay Madhu Koda's Conviction, Won't Be Able To Contest State Election

The Supreme Court has dismissed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda's appeal seeking stay of his conviction in a coal block allocation case, resulting in him not being eligible to contest the upcoming state assembly elections to happen in November.

The Court was hearing Koda's appeal against the Delhi High Court's Order refusing him stay on conviction on October 18, 2024. Koda was convicted in December 2017 under provisions relating to criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct. He was ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment of three years.

A Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar, refusing to interfere with the High Court's Judgment, said that the High Court had delivered its judgment only after examining issues surrounding the nature of offence and of conviction on merits.

Koda's counsel sought relief on the basis of the Supreme Court's judgment in Afjal Ansari v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2023) in which the Court had ordered a stay on conviction of a sitting Member of Parliament. An important consideration in that case was that Ansari was a sitting MP at the time of conviction and his consequent disqualification created a vacuum leading to people left unrepresented. The Delhi High Court in its judgment drew a distinction between Ansari and Koda's case, noting that Koda is not an elected representative.

Senior Advocate Amit Kumar appeared for Koda while Senior Advocate RS Cheema appeared for the CBI in the case.

The Supreme Court in its Order said, "Several factors and facets are to be taken into consideration before the Court grants stay on conviction, which is not a matter of routine, but a power to exercise in an exceptional situation."

On the period for which Koda will remain ineligible to contest elections, Koda's counsel said the debarment period would count as three years of imprisonment and three years after that. "But that point was not made by you before the High Court," Justice Khanna noted, to which the counsel agreed. Justice Khanna clarified that the correct interpretation of Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 in the present case is that "the debarment under Section 8(3) will be for nine years."

Cause Title: Madhu Koda v. State Through Central Bureau of Investigation [Diary No. 49236 of 2024]