Bhubaneswar, April 23: Odisha Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim received a significant reprieve as the Supreme Court temporarily suspended his sentence in a Rs 1.50 crore loan scam case on Tuesday.

The apex court, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta, reviewed Moquim's special leave petition challenging the Orissa High Court's decision, which upheld his conviction and the trial court's findings.

Previously, the Supreme Court had allowed Moquim to delay surrendering until the next hearing. The Orissa High Court, led by Justice B.R. Routray, had declined to intervene in the sentence issued by the special vigilance court, citing the severity of the sentence, the nature of the offenses, and Moquim's involvement.

In September 2022, a special vigilance court in Bhubaneswar convicted Moquim, along with former IAS officer Vinod Kumar, former ORHDC Company Secretary Swosti Ranjan Mohapatra, and Metro Builders Pvt Ltd Director Peeyusdhari Mohanty, sentencing them to three years in jail.

According to Vigilance officials, Vinod Kumar and Swosti Ranjan had approved a Rs 1.50 crore loan to Metro Builders for the Metro City-II project in 2000, overseen by Moquim, who was then the Managing Director of Metro Builders.

The loan, sanctioned in three installments at Vinod Kumar's directive, lacked necessary approvals, spot verifications, or board oversight, suggesting favoritism towards the builder.

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