India, March 6 -- The Nashik sessions court on Wednesday stayed state agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate's conviction in a 1995 cheating and forgery case, removing necessity of his removal as a member of the legislative assembly, for now.

A magistrate court had, on February 20, convicted the minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, 67, and his brother Sunil Kokate and sentenced them to two years in prison for fraudulently acquiring two flats under the chief minister's discretionary quota - meant for economically weaker sections - by submitting fabricated documents.

This prompted calls from the opposition for the minister's disqualification from the assembly under provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, w...