Supreme Court speaks: law takes its course,Sanjay can’t contest

“In view of the serious offence for which he has been convicted by the Special Judge,we are not inclined to suspend the conviction and sentence awarded by the special Judge in the present case,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan said.

Dutt has been sentenced to six years in prison,and is currently on bail granted by the apex court. Writing for the Bench also comprising Justices P Sathasivam and R M Lodha,the CJI acknowledged that Dutt is indeed “a well known cine artiste and because of his contribution to art and cinema he has got large number of fans throughout the country and abroad”.

The Bench also took note of Dutt’s counsel Harish Salve’s arguments presented yesterday that Dutt’s father,the late Sunil Dutt,had also been a famous actor before he entered politics,and that Dutt is neither a habitual criminal nor has he been involved in any other case.

However,“despite all these favourable circumstances,we do not think it is a fit case where conviction and sentence could be suspended so that the bar under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act will not operate against him,” the judges said.

“Law prohibits any person who has been convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years from contesting the election and such person shall be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release”,the Bench said.

It added that the court’s power to stay the conviction to enable a convict to contest “shall be exercised only under exceptional circumstances”.

The Bench refused to treat Dutt’s case on a par with the one involving BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu,who went on to win a Lok Sabha byelection from Amritsar after his conviction and three-year prison term in a case involving the death of a man in a road rage was stayed by the Supreme Court.

The court noted that while Sidhu was a sitting MP,he “could have continued as an MP even after his conviction and sentence in view of Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act”.

Dutt,who was projected as the Samajwadi Party’s candidate from Lucknow,said he respects the court’s decision,but the order did not mean he would now return to Mumbai.

“I honour the court’s verdict,but I will not leave Lucknow. I will continue to campaign for the Samajwadi Party and its candidate,” Dutt told reporters in Lucknow. “I am not going anywhere. I am here to stay. I am not leaving. Any candidate who will come will be my candidate. It is my seat and will always remain so.”

At a press conference in New Delhi later,the SP shied away from naming Dutt’s replacement. Neither Dutt nor party general secretary Amar Singh would say if it would be Dutt’s wife Manyata,but Singh did not rule out the possibility of Jaya Bachchan stepping in. “He (Dutt) will campaign in the whole state during the elections. He will not shoot (for movies) for the next two months,” Singh said.

Dutt repeated he would not leave Lucknow. He expressed unhappiness that the government had opposed his plea in court. “If anybody opposed my plea… Government only opposed (my plea),” he said. Asked his personal opinion on Manyata replacing him as the SP candidate,he said: “Why should I tell about personal matters? It all depends upon what the party decides.”

Singh said the party would “sit and decide” on Dutt’s replacement. “I will have to talk to senior leaders Janeshwar Mishra and Ram Gopal Yadav. I will have to consult.”

Asked if it could be Jaya Bachchan,he said: “We will have to consult Jaya Bachchan. She is a senior party leader.”

(With PTI inputs)