Mumbai, May 12: State transport minister Surupsinh Naik, sentenced to jail by the Supreme Court for contempt, resigned from the cabinet today after returning from Delhi where the apex court dismissed his review petition.

Naik, who was advised by the Congress’s central leadership in Delhi to step down and comply with the court order, was expected to surrender to police later tonight.

Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, too, had flown to Delhi to consult Sonia Gandhi after the court verdict.

The Supreme Court had handed Naik and additional chief secretary Ashok Khot one-month terms after they violated a 1997 apex court order on closure of wood-based industries within 1 km of forested areas. The violation took place in 2004 when Naik was environment and forests minister with Khot the principal secretary in his department.

Copies of the resignation will be sent to the governor and the Assembly Speaker. The government has begun the process of placing Khot under suspension.

Government sources said copies of the court order had been faxed to state chief secretary D.K. Sankaran and police chief P.S. Pasricha. The court has asked the state to file a compliance report.

Naik, Congress MLA from tribal-dominated Nandurbar, has been part of every Maharashtra cabinet since the early ’80s except during the rule of the Shiv Sena-BJP in 1995-99. Earlier, he enjoyed two brief stints in the Lok Sabha.