The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a petition filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, seeking a stay on his conviction in a coal scam case to allow him to contest the upcoming state Assembly elections.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Kumar, and R. Mahadevan postponed the hearing on Thursday, citing that they had not received the case files in time. The matter is now scheduled for Friday. The bench also directed senior advocate R.S. Cheema, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to review a previous Supreme Court judgment related to the criteria for suspending a sentence, which differs from bail conditions. Cheema agreed to examine the ruling.

Koda's plea comes after the Delhi High Court rejected his request for a stay on his conviction in a corruption case linked to the allocation of the Rajhara North Coal Block. Koda, along with former coal secretary H.C. Gupta and others, was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2017 for criminal conspiracy and corruption. Fines were also imposed on the convicted individuals and entities involved.

Under the Representation of the People Act, Koda's conviction disqualifies him from running for office, and the CBI opposed his plea on the grounds of maintainability. The agency noted that a similar application was dismissed by the Delhi High Court in 2020, which ruled that it would be inappropriate to allow Koda to contest elections until he is acquitted.

Polling for the Jharkhand Assembly is scheduled for November 13 and 20, with results to be declared on November 23