New Delhi: Former Union minister Dilip Ray, who was sentenced to a three-year jail term in a coal scam case about irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand block in 1999, Thursday urged the Delhi High Court to grant a stay on his conviction as he wishes to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice to the CBI and asked it to file a status report on the application of 71-year old Ray, a Minister of State (coal) in the erstwhile Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The high court listed the matter for further hearing April 5.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Ray, submitted that the politician wishes to contest the upcoming elections and so was seeking a stay on his conviction. The application said by virtue of Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, Ray stands disqualified from contesting the forthcoming national or Odisha state Assembly elections or getting nominated to the Rajya Sabha, which irreparably and irreversibly causes grave prejudice to him, especially considering his age. Senior advocate R S Cheema and lawyer Tarannum Cheema, appearing for the CBI, said they will file a response to the application for which they need some time.