Nagpur: The Maharashtra government has announced plans to appoint a senior lawyer, preferably from Mumbai, to argue its case against former Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) minister Sunil Kedar. This decision was communicated by additional government pleader Neeraj Jawade, who requested additional time to finalise the appointment.
Senior counsel Surendra Kumar Mishra, representing Kedar, opposed the government’s request, noting that similar adjournments had been sought previously. Mishra accused the government of employing delay tactics and insisted that government pleader Deven Chauhan should argue the case if a special public prosecutor cannot be appointed. He supported his argument with multiple Supreme Court verdicts.
The government had initially considered sending Advocate General Birendra Saraf but abandoned the plan due to time constraints.
Sunil Kedar, former Saoner MLA, has approached the High Court seeking a stay on his conviction in the ₹170 crore Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCCB) scam, which surfaced in 2002. During the last hearing before the summer recess, Justice Joshi Phalke issued notices to the government through Ganeshpeth police station, which was investigating the case.
Kedar was convicted by a magisterial court on December 22, 2023, for misappropriating bank funds under the pretence of purchasing government securities using illegal resolutions and forged documents. These offences, committed in 2000 and 2001, resulted in his conviction and a 5-year rigorous imprisonment sentence along with a fine of ₹12.5 lakh. The sessions court upheld this sentence on December 30.
Kedar’s legal manoeuvres are seen as a strategic move to overturn his conviction and contest the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections scheduled for October-November. His current six-year disqualification from contesting elections stems from his conviction, which exceeds two years.
