Bhubaneswar: Former Union Minister and successful hotelier, Dilip Ray is likely to contest upcoming Assembly election in the State as the Delhi High Court today stayed his conviction in a coal scam case.
Shri Ray has been sentenced to three-year jail term in the case pertaining to irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand block in 1999. The High Court stayed the conviction to enable him to contest the upcoming Odisha legislative assembly elections.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma allowed Shri Ray’s application in which he sought a stay on the conviction and said if the conviction is not suspended, it would lead to an irreversible consequence in case he is acquitted at a later stage.
The High Court directed that Shri Ray’s conviction in the case shall stand stayed during the pendency of his appeal against his conviction and sentence by the trial court.
Former Minister Coal was sentenced to three years in jail on 26 October, 2020 by a trial court which had also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on him.
The former Union Minister, in his petition to the Court, said that he wishes to contest the upcoming Odisha Legislative Assembly elections and this could be his last chance to serve the people.
If he went to jail, by virtue of Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, he stands disqualified from contesting the upcoming National or Odisha Assembly elections or getting nominated to the Rajya Sabha which irreparably and irreversibly causes grave prejudice to him, especially considering his age, the leader prayed before the court.
As the court granted him relief, all eyes are now on Rourkela Assembly constituency, from where Shri Ray was elected thrice. While BJD has re-nominated Sarada Prasad Nayak, BJP is yet to announce a candidate for the MLA seat.
In November 2018, the former Union Minister had resigned from BJP and also from the position as MLA. However, it is speculated that he may again join the BJP and fight for Rourkela seat as he recently met BJP’s national leadership in New Delhi.