India, Dec. 20 -- The Bombay High Court on Friday suspended the two-year jail sentence imposed on former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate in a cheating and forgery case dating back over three decades, and also granted him bail.

However, a single-judge bench of justice RN Laddha refused to stay Kokate's conviction, which could have prevented his disqualification as a member of the legislative assembly, noting that prima facie evidence pointed to his involvement in committing the crime.

"Permitting a person convicted of a criminal offence (to hold an office like a cabinet berth) solely on account of a suspended sentence would cause grave and irreparable prejudice to public service," justice Laddha said, while refusing to stay the conv...