Sanjay Dutt case: Law breakers can't be law makers

By M. Gautham Machaiah

The Supreme Court’s refusal to stay Sanjay Dutt’s conviction in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts case and thereby disallowing him to contest the Lok Sabha polls will go a long way in cleansing the Parliament of criminal elements.

Dutt was disqualified under Section 8 (3) of The Representation of The People Act, which debars a person sentenced to two or more years of imprisonment, from contesting the elections. Dutt was convicted to six years imprisonment under the Arms Act for possession of an AK-56 rifle, a 9 mm pistol and grenades given by co-accused Abu Salem before the Mumbai blasts.

The actor who was fielded by the Samajawadi Party from Lucknow had approached the Supreme Court seeking suspension of his conviction in order to enable him to contest the polls. Had the apex court upheld his plea, it would have opened the floodgates for several other politicians convicted of much more heinous crime, to enter the hallowed precincts of the Parliament.

Sanjay Dutt evoked the magic of his patriotic father Sunil Dutt to convince the court that he was not an anti-national. Apparently, he had kept the weapons in his house for self defense! The actor not only tried to reason with the court that there was no criminal case against him before the blasts, but also did his best to impress the judges about his good conduct thereafter.

The court has rightly thrown the case out of the door. Can a person be absolved of a serious crime just because of the patriotic credentials of his father? Is Sanjay Dutt a little child not to understand that it is illegal to posses an AK-56 rifle and grenades? Would law abiding citizens stock hand grenades in their houses even if it is for self-protection?

Let is not be forgotten that the actor was in possession of these weapons at the time of the blasts, and that he procured them from the very perpetrators of this operation which left many innocent people dead. This clearly establishes his link with the underworld.

Mere good conduct after the commission of a crime does not entitle one to lenient treatment. Terrorists, their accomplices or associates must be dealt with the severest of punishment and Sanjay Dutt is no exception.

By its historic order, the Supreme Court has proved that law breakers cannot become law makers.

(Picture sourced from: http://content.msn.co.in/NR/rdonlyres/F1D53E15-519D-4FEC-85B9-F6FA82198FD0/0/SanjayDutt6.jpg)

COMMENTS

Justice is not just to be done, but seen to be done.SC's is done and also seen. As you rightly said Supreme Courts judgment will go a long way in keeping people of criminal record out of the political system.

-Abha Banerjee, Mumbai

Aaah. Now Sanjay Dutt can sit back and ponder about what could have been. On tbis note, should there be a retirement age for politicians? Experience, of course, comes with age. So does dementia. Good blogs Gautham.

-Cherian Thomas, Dubai

Every now and then our judiciary has been taking an active part in protecting the interests of voters and thus helping to bring back confidence in "Elections & Leaders"! The youth of India, at least now should take an active part in the up-coming elections. Please go and vote so that it is not mis-utilised by some anti-social elements. Good read Gautham.

-A. Anju, Hyderabad

Cutting the nose to spite the face

M. Gautham Machaiah

BJP’s four time Member of Parliament from Bangalore (South) in Karnataka, Ananth Kumar, appears to be a worried man today. While on the one hand the Congress is contemplating fielding former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna against him, on the other, some of Ananth Kumar’s own party colleagues are set to pull the rug from under his feet.

Ananth Kumar who was the Civil Aviation Minister in the Vajpayee cabinet has been representing this constituency from 1996. A staunch RSS loyalist, he is the moderate and modern face of the BJP in the State.

What today threatens Ananth Kumar is the game of one-upmanship that he and Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa have been playing for over a decade now. Ananth Kumar had an upper hand while he was the Union Minister, while now the wheel of fortune has turned in favour of Yeddyurappa. Many in the Chief Minister’s camp believe this is the best time to clip Ananth Kumar’s wings by ensuring his defeat.

If Krishna is fielded by the Congress, there is every possibility of former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Deve Gowda extending direct or indirect support. Though Deve Gowda’s animosity towards Krishna is well known, both belong to the dominant Vokkaliga community.

Gowda has nothing to lose as anyway he does not have a formidable candidate to field from this constituency. But ultimately it is his hatred for the BJP than his love for Krishna that will force the former Prime Minister to bury the hatchet at least for the time being. To make matters worse for Ananth Kumar, some BJP ministers from the Vokkaliga community are said to have extended their tacit support to Krishna.

With daggers drawn from all sides, there seems to be a possibility of Ananth Kumar shifting his constituency to Dharwad, his home district in North Karnataka. But unfortunately for him Dharwad has a large population of Lingayats, the community to which Yeddyurappa belongs.

Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, Ananth Kumar would perhaps be ruing, “God save me from my friends, I can protect myself from my enemies.”

(Picture sourced from: http://www.indian-elections. com)

COMMENTS

Ananth Kumar is a clever politician. I have seen him as a small boy, during emergency. He is a true and honest (?) politician who will convert the situation to advantage. I am sure he will convince Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and also get along with him, since this is election time. If BJP comes to power in the Centre, he is sure to become a Union minister (After all, he is a chela of Advani).

In the interest of our State, it is good that the BJP comes to power in the Centre. What is unfortunate is that at most times we have opposite parties ruling the Centre and the State.

-K.S. Guru Raja, Mysore

Ananth Kumar who is a four time MP and contesting again for the fifth time is sitting pretty in the Bangalore (South) constituency. Out of the eight assembly segments in the constituency, five belong to BJP. Thus, Ananth Kumar’s victory is a foregone conclusion.

In contrast, S.M.Krishna won narrowly in the 2004 Assembly polls in Chamarajpet. His brother's son lost his deposit in Maddur assembly by-poll recently. The popularity chart of both Congress and Krishna is at its lowest. In the event of his defeat in these elections, Krishna will lose even the little credibility that he enjoys now.

-S. Prakash, BJP