SC rejects Dutt plea to contest LS polls

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt's plea to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections was today rejected by the Supreme Court which refused to stay his conviction in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

"We are not inclined to suspend his conviction," a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.

"It is not a fit case to grant stay of conviction," the Bench also comprising Justices P Sathasivam and R M Lodha said.  Dutt had been fielded by the Samajwadi Party as its candidate for Lucknow Lok Sabha seat.

The Court said that Dutt was convicted for "serious offence" under the Arms Act by a Mumbai TADA Court.

The Bench said that the actor's case could not be equated with that of BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu whose conviction and sentence in a road rage case was stayed by the apex court to enable him to contest the Amritsar by-elections in 2007.

The Bench said that Dutt was disqualified from contesting the elections under the Section 8 (3) of the Representation of People Act, which debars a person sentenced to two or more years of imprisonment, from standing for polls.  The judges said that the power of the court to suspend the conviction of a person to enable him to contest the elections has to be exercised rarely.