On Saturday (23 December), the Maharashtra legislature disqualified Sunil Kedar, a Congress MLA and former minister, from the state assembly following his conviction in a case related to financial irregularities in the Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCCB) as reported by Indian Express.

The disqualification came after a local court in Nagpur found him guilty.

A notification from the legislature secretariat stated, “Consequent upon the conviction of Shri Sunil Chhatrapal Kedar… he stands disqualified for being a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the date of his conviction i.e. 22nd day of December 2023.”

The disqualification is in accordance with the provisions of Article 191 (1) (e) of the Constitution of India read with section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The seat of Kedar has become vacant as of the date of his conviction.

Kedar was convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406, 409, 468, 471, 120 (B), and 34 by the Court of Assistant Chief Judicial Magistrate in Nagpur on 22 December.

The court sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a total fine of Rs 1,250,000.

The prosecution’s case highlighted that the NDCCB incurred a loss of Rs 125 crore in government securities in 2002, due to flouting of rules while investing funds through Home Trade Securities, an investment firm. At that time, Kedar held the position of chairman of the bank.