The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the conviction of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, who was disqualified from contesting the upcoming state assembly elections following his conviction in a coal block allocation case in 2017. Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda. (ANI Photo) A bench headed by justice Sanjiv Khanna refused to interfere with the October 18 order of the Delhi high court refusing the stay on his conviction. As the former CM relied on an earlier order of the top court in December 2023 granting stay of conviction to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Afzal Ansari, the bench clarified that similar relief cannot be given to the petitioner because he is not a sitting legislator. “This court (in Afzal Ansari case) had exercised its power considering the exceptional situation that the appellant was a sitting member of Parliament. This is not the factual position in the present case,” the bench, also comprising justice Sanjay Kumar, said. To be sure, Afzal Ansari’s Lok Sabha membership was restored as a consequence of the …