Under provisions of Article 19 (1) (e) of the Constitution of India and Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Kedar stands disqualified as MLA from the date of his conviction on December 22, a gazette order of the state legislature secretariat issued on Saturday stated, news agency PTI reported.
Kedar’s constituency Saoner, located in Nagpur district, has become vacant from the date of his conviction, the order said. On Friday, Kedar and five others were sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment by a Nagpur magistrate’s court for misappropriation of funds at the NDCCB.
The five-time MLA, Kedar was convicted under Indian Penal Code Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating, 471 (whoever fraudulently or dishonestly uses as genuine any document which he knows or has reason to believe to be a forged document), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention).
The case began in 2002. The prosecution said the NDCCB lost Rs 125 crore in government securities in 2002 as rules were flouted while investing funds through Home Trade Private Limited. Kedar was the chairman of the bank at that time.
According to Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Pekhle-Purkar’s ruling, Kedar and one other accused were entrusted with the entire stake of the bank, adding that the fund in question was hard-earned money of the people and members of the bank, most of whom are poor farmers from Nagpur.
The court said improving the status of the socially and economically marginalised groups within society is the goal and purpose of the cooperative sector. Kedar and then general manager Ashok Choudhary were entrusted to invest the funds in the manner prescribed by the law but they committed breach of trust, the court said.
(With Inputs From Agency)
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