Bombay High Court dismisses 5-time Shiv Sena MLA plea for suspension of graft conviction

The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed an application by Baban Gholap, the five-time Shiv Sena MLA, seeking suspension of his conviction for corruption.

The court decision virtually eliminates the possibility of him contesting the forthcoming assembly elections, although he could yet file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

The decision on the application was announced by judge Sadhana Jadhav who will give a reasoned order later. The judge said Gholap is a public servant and suspending his conviction would send a wrong signal.

Gholap and his wife Shashikala were convicted in a disproportionate assets case on March 21 this year and he was subsequently disqualified as MLA by the governor, and banned from contesting elections. He had been elected from the Deolali constituency.

They were charged with diverting Rs4.5 crore from three state corporations to the bankrupt Awami Mercantile Bank, for which he allegedly received kickbacks.

The matter happened when Gholap was social welfare minister in the BJP-Shiv Sena government in 1995 and he resigned in 1999 following the corruption allegations.

Immediately after the conviction, Gholap filed an appeal in the high court and pending the appeal he sought bail and this was granted.

He also sought suspension of his conviction so he could contest the assembly elections. Aabad Ponda, who represented Gholap, argued that his conviction should be suspended till the hearing of the appeal.

Public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde opposed the application saying that according to a recent Supreme Court order, till such time that the conviction was not suspended, the person could not contest elections even if he was granted bail pending appeal.