A Maharashtra court upheld the conviction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Manikrao Kokate and his brother Vijay Kokate for submitting forged documents to secure government flats under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota in Nashik. The court sentenced them to two years in jail, prompting Kokate to resign from the state Cabinet.

The case, dating back to 1989–1994, revolved around a housing scheme for EWS families with an annual income limit of Rs 30,000. The Kokate brothers falsely claimed to be poor and landless to obtain four flats in Nashik. However, evidence presented in court exposed the deception.

A 1994 revolver license application contradicted their poverty claims, revealing that Manikrao employed 40–50 laborers and paid weekly wages totaling at least Rs 3.6 lakh. Additionally, a probe showed the family owned 25 acres of fertile agricultural land and earned substantial income from sugarcane supplied to the Kopargaon Cooperative Sugar Factory.

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Investigators also found that income certificates, affidavits, and other documents submitted to secure the flats were completely forged. The court concluded that the actions constituted deliberate fraud against the government rather than an inadvertent error.

The complaint was first lodged at Sarkarwada police station on October 13, 1995, and the subsequent investigation revealed the full extent of the fraud. Manikrao Kokate has now filed a plea with the Bombay High Court challenging the Nashik court’s verdict, with a hearing scheduled for Friday.

The controversy around Kokate has been compounded by a viral video during the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, showing him allegedly playing rummy on his mobile phone while proceedings were underway, drawing sharp criticism from opposition parties.

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