Maharashtra NCP leader Manikrao Kokate on Wednesday (December 17) stripped of the portfolios of Sports and Minority Affairs, though he continues to remain a minister in the state government without any portfolio. Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat transferred Kokate's portfolios to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, acting on the recommendation of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Kokate has been convicted and handed a two-year jail term by a Nashik court in a 1995 cheating and forgery case linked to a state government housing scheme.
In a letter, the Governor said, "I have received your letter dated 17th December 2025 recommending to allocate the portfolio of Sports & Youth Welfare, Minorities Development & Aukaf held by Adv. Manikrao Saraswati Shivaji Kokate, Minister to Ajit Ashatai Anantrao Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister (Finance & Planning, State Excise).
I hereby convey my approval to your above mentioned recommendation."
Manikrao Kokate moves HC against conviction
The Nashik court on Tuesday, while upholding the February 20 order of the magistrate's court, observed that Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate had "dishonestly induced" the state government into allotting him a flat reserved for the economically weaker sections, despite being a "prosperous" farmer.
Earlier in the day, Kokate moved the Bombay High Court, challenging his conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. Kokate's lawyer, Aniket Nikam, mentioned the plea before a single bench of Justice R N Laddha, seeking an urgent hearing. The court posted it for hearing on Friday.
Reacting to the verdict, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday said he has not yet received a certified copy of the court order and would take a call on Kokate's status as an MLA only after examining it.
Earlier, on February 20, a magistrate's court had convicted Kokate and his brother Vijay Kokate, sentencing them to two years' imprisonment for submitting forged documents to obtain flats under a state government quota. The conviction was stayed by a sessions court on March 5 following an appeal by the duo.
However, Nashik District and Sessions Court Judge PM Badar on Tuesday upheld the two-year jail term awarded by the magistrate’s court, reaffirming the findings against the minister.
What is the case?
The case pertains to the period between 1989 and 1992, when the state government introduced a housing scheme reserved for the needy, defined as persons with an annual income not exceeding Rs 30,000. The brothers were accused of submitting false affidavits declaring that their income was below this threshold.
They were subsequently allotted flats in the Vise Mala area of Nashik in 1994.
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