New Delhi, Dec. 23 -- The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the conviction of former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Shivaji Kokate in a three-decade old cheating and forgery case, precluding his disqualification from the legislative assembly. The court further directed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader not to hold any office of profit as it admitted his appeal , observing that the trial court order convicting him in the case had committed a "fundamental error". A special vacation bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order while hearing Kokate's plea challenging the December 19 order of the Bombay high court refusing stay on his conviction. "Meanwhile, the conviction of the petitioner shall remain stayed to the extent that there will be no effect of disqualification for him to continue as member of the Maharashtra legislative assembly. However, he will not hold any office of profit." The decision comes as a great relief to Kokate, a five-time MLA, who stepped down as a cabinet minister following a Nashik court order of December 16 convicting him in a three-decade old case. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, attracting the disqualification under section 8(3) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 (ROPA). The high court on December 19 suspended his sentence and granted bail but did not agree on granting stay of conviction. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the NCP leader along with advocate Samrat Krishnarao Shinde said, "I am seeking stay of conviction. He is a five-time MLA having no past antecedents. After 30 years, he has been sentenced with imprisonment for 2 years. The allegation is that when he started law practice he could not have a salary of Rs.30,000." The Nashik court held that Kokate used forged salary certificate to obtain four flats in a government scheme in Nashik meant for those with annual income not exceeding Rs.30,000. The complainant, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh opposed the plea for stay of conviction pointing out that the trial court records a finding that at the relevant period in 1994-95, the petitioner worked both as a lawyer and an agriculturist. To apply under the government scheme, he did not show his agricultural income and based on evidence gathered in this case, the trial court held him guilty of cheating and forgery, Singh said. The bench said, "A false declaration does not make it a case of forgery. There is a fundamental error in the trial court's judgment of conviction. This requires examination." Kokate resigned as minister for sports and youth affairs, and minority affairs, on Thursday soon after the trial court verdict. The petition explained that even if his agricultural income had been considered, and assumed at Rs.1 lakh , then the net income would not be more than Rs.50,000, which would have been divided among 10 shareholders. "Hence by no stretch of imagination the individual income of the petitioner can exceed more than the prescribed limit at the relevant time," it added....