Supreme Court rejects Madhu Koda’s plea, former Jharkhand CM can’t contest assembly election

Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda is barred from contesting the upcoming assembly election in the state after the Supreme Court dismissed his petition seeking a stay on his conviction in a coal scam case.

A bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna declined to interfere with the Delhi High Court’s October 18 order, which refused to stay Koda’s 2017 conviction. In 2017, Koda was sentenced to three years in prison for alleged corrupt practices and criminal conspiracy in allocating Rajhara North Coal Block to Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited (VISUL).

Koda, along with former coal secretary HC Gupta, former Jharkhand chief secretary AK Basu, and his close aide Vijay Joshi, were found guilty of corruption. The court imposed fines of Rs 50 lakh on VISUL, Rs 25 lakh on Koda, and Rs 1 lakh on Gupta, with Basu receiving an additional Rs 1 lakh fine. Although they were granted bail during their appeals, the Representation of People Act, 1951, disqualifies individuals convicted and sentenced to two years or more from contesting polls.