Mumbai, Dec 16 (NationPress) The NCP has faced a significant setback as the Nashik sessions court has confirmed the two-year prison sentence imposed on sports minister Manikrao Kokate for unlawfully acquiring a government flat through falsified documents.

Following this judicial decision, Kokate's position as a minister is now uncertain. Those who filed an intervention petition opposing Kokate's bail have presented evidence to the Bombay High Court.

Minister Kokate gained media attention after a video of him playing cards in the state council circulated widely.

With the opposition vocally demanding his resignation, he was stripped of his role in the Agriculture Department and reassigned to the Sports Department. The lower court sentenced Kokate and his brother, Vijay Kokate, to two years in prison along with a fine of Rs 50,000 each for deceiving the government by obtaining a government-quota flat from the Low-Income Group using fraudulent documents.

The Sessions Court previously granted bail to the Kokate brothers and suspended the sentence's enforcement during the appeal process.

Kokate's legal representatives contended that the brothers would incur significant harm if the sentence were not suspended while the appeal was ongoing. The initial complaint was lodged by the late former minister Tukaram Dighole. Following the Sessions Court's temporary stay of Kokate's sentence, Advocate Anjali Dighole-Rathod, the daughter of the former minister, filed an intervention petition. Her interests were represented by Advocate Ashutosh Rathod, who later reported that the Sessions Court has upheld the lower court's sentence.

Upon reviewing the case records, the Sessions Court noted that the flats acquired by Kokate did not comply with established regulations.

Advocate Rathod informed the media that Minister Kokate is expected to resign morally after the original sentencing. He also indicated that they have initiated the process of submitting documentation to the High Court to ensure Kokate does not receive bail.

Meanwhile, NCP SP Rohit Pawar called for the immediate dismissal of Minister Kokate following the Sessions Court's confirmation of the two-year sentence for defrauding the government by illegally occupying flats through counterfeit documents.

Pawar expressed in a post on X, “The dignity of farmers has been compromised, online addresses have been misused, and now with the sentence upheld in the case of defrauding the government, this administration—constant in their empty promises about ethics and shedding crocodile tears—how many more days will they shield him? Time will tell... I have full faith in the judicial system, and I believe the defamation suit Kokate filed against me will also be dismissed by the court in due course.”