Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Maharashtra Governor lacks power to pardon Sanjay Dutt,senior lawyer and BJP leader Mahesh Jethmalani today said criticising Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju for his 8220;unseemly haste8221; in seeking relief for the actor sentenced to 5 years jail for possessing arms during 1993 Mumbai blasts.
He said Katju has written a 8220;wholly misconceived8221; letter to the Governor and others,including Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Iamp;B Minister Manish Tewary,members of film fraternity and office bearers of Congress,NCP and Samajwadi parties 8220;have jumped on to his ex-Lordship8217;s bandwagon8221;.
He said Dutt has been convicted under the Arms Act and the Governor8217;s power of pardon under Article 161 of the Constitution does not extend to conviction under this law.
8220;His ex-Lordship8217;s Katju8217;s letter to the Governor of Maharashtra,is thus wholly misconceived and his loyal band of followers must seek other avenues,if they exist at all,to secure a reprieve for Dutt. Katju would be well advised to not let his heart rule his head even if he considers its pulls to be justified,8221; Jethmalani said in a statement.
8220;For their part,Kumar and Tewari,both eminent men of law,would serve the interest of the nation better if they applied their energies to upholding the law,rather than blindly seeking exoneration for a convict who by design or dim-wittedness facilitated the death of so many innocent victims on that fateful day in Mumbai8221;,he said.
Jethmalani said it does not 8220;befit8221; a retired apex court judge to express his anguish at the verdict of the top court by saying that he Katju himself was impelled to file a mercy petition in his personal capacity on actor8217;s behalf.
8220;It ill befits a retired Judge of the SC and Chairman of PCI,to display such unseemly haste in seeking complete exoneration for Dutt in the 1993 bomb blast case.
8220;Hardly has the ink dried on the Supreme Court8217;s judgement upholding the actor8217;s conviction under the Arms Act that the ex-Judge has lamented the decision,extolled Sanjay Dutt8217;s virtues and regretted his suffering of the last twenty years,8221; he said.
Jethmalani expressed surprise that both Kumar and Tewary have endorsed Justice Katju8217;s view that the Governor has the power to pardon Dutt for the offences for which he has been convicted.
8220;While it is the personal prerogative of any citizen of this country to campaign for a pardon for any convict 8211; notwithstanding the dubious company the convict might have kept,both before and after the cataclysmic events that had shaken Bombay on 12th March,1993,citizens are entitled to expect a modicum of elementary homework at least by such distinguished personalities as Messrs. Katju,Ashwini Kumar and Manish Tiwari.
8220;The executive power of the state government does not extend to matters enumerated in the Union list of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution of India. Entry 5 in the Union List consists of arms,firearms,ammunition and explosives. The Arms Act is a statute enacted by Parliament. The Governor8217;s power of pardon under Article 161 of the Constitution of India,accordingly,does not extend to the sentence of any person convicted under the Arms Act,8221; he said.
