A PIL against Aspiring Criminal Politicians

PIL in SC to purge polls of convicts

LUCKNOW: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court (SC) for not allowing convicts contest the elections may spell trouble for film actor-turned-politician Sanjay Dutt and others like him who are aspiring to contest elections despite being convicted in criminal cases.

Convicted for illegal possession of firearms in 1993 Mumbai blast case, Dutt has been nominated by SP for prestigious Lucknow Lok Sabha seat. The actor has filed application before SC for permission to contest elections but has started campaigning without waiting for apex court's clearance.

Similarly, Shahabuddin, mafia-turned-politician from Bihar, has also been convicted in a criminal case but is planning to contest. But now the PIL listed for hearing on March 27, is dangling on their heads.

Filed by K Saran and Alok Saran, both residents of Lucknow and advocates by profession, the PIL has sought directions from the apex court that in matters related to election and Representation of People Act (RPA) 1951 suspension of conviction in a criminal case should not be permitted for contesting elections. The petitioners have also prayed that the case of former cricketer and BJP MP Navjot Singh Sindhu should not be treated as precedence in other cases as it is only an interim order and cannot be treated as law.

The petitioners have cited two SC judgments to support their contention for not allowing convicts to contest elections. In BR Kapur vs state of Tamil Nadu 2001 case, a five-member constitution bench had quashed appointment of AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa as chief minister of Tamil Nadu. The Bench held that Jayalalitha was ineligible to contest assembly elections under section 8(3) of the RPA because of her conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) with a punishment of imprisonment in excess of two years.

Again in K Prabhakaran vs P Jayarajan 2005 case, a five-member constitution bench of the apex court had upheld that a convict awarded more than two years of imprisonment as punishment cannot contest elections as per section 8(3) of the RPA. The bench subsequently also quashed Jayarajan's election from Kuthuparamba assembly constituency of Kerela on the appeal of K Prabhakaran. Jayarajan was convicted under Prevention of Damage to Property Act 1984 and was awarded a term of 29 months imprisonment by the trial court.

Petitioner's counsel Harjot Singh said that it has been clearly laid down in the section 8 (3) of the RPA that a convict awarded imprisonment of more than two years cannot contest elections unless an appeal against the conviction has been allowed by a superior court or has been set aside. But, both Dutt and Shahabuddin have sought permission from the SC for contesting Lok Sabha elections citing the case of Sidhu, who also was convicted in a road rage case, but allowed to contest elections by the apex court.

Singh said that Sidhu's case cannot be treated as a precedence because he was already a sitting MP at the time when the a trial court convicted him in the road rage case. "Though it was not legally binding on Sidhu, he resigned from Parliament on moral grounds and filed an appeal in the superior court against his conviction before coming to the SC for permission to contest bye election. Sidhu's case was described as an exceptional one by the SC in its interim order while allowing him to contest bye election," he added.

Singh clarified that the PIL was not against any individual but to uphold the law which aims to check criminalisation of politics and to bar entry of convicts in Parliament. However, he said that he was sorry to see Dutt campaigning in Lucknow without even waiting for SC's clearance.

"Dutt's case would be taken up by the apex court on March 30 but it seems that he has taken the law lightly and has launched his election campaign presuming that the court will grant him permission," he said.

At last I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
Our legal profession has taken up cudgels on behalf of the common man to fight these criminal politicians. Congratulations and thank you Mr K Saran and Alok Saran.
When the history of India's third war of independence against corrupt politicians is written, your's will shine on top just like Bhagat Singh, Azad and Sukhdev's in India's war of independence from the British.
I would once again request members of the legal profession in different states to shoot down the budding aspirations of these criminal politicians.
Let them understand that WE THE CITIZEN'S OF INDIA WILL NOT TOELRATE CORRUPT POLITICIANS.
I am giving below the background of some of these criminals who aspire to reach parliament. I had written about them earlier.

Mr Jagdish Rana (Saharanpur), who was at the centre of a sex scandal
Mukhtar Ansari, is prime accused in BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai’s murder
Dhananjay Singh, a historysheeter facing four murder charges, is the candidate from Jaunpur
The BSP candidate from Unnao, Arun Kumar Shukla ‘Anna’, is a historysheeter and one of the accused in the Guest House case of June 2, 1995 in which Mayawati was attacked by SP workers.
D P Yadav, BSP candidate from Badaun, noted gangster and mafia don, faces murder charge along with cases of extortion and kidnapping.
His son, Vikas Yadav, has been convicted in the Nitish Katara murder case.
Another BSP candidate Kadir Rana (Muzaffarnagar), is involved in a murder case. Rakesh Pandey, the Ambedkarnagar candidate, is facing charges of double murder
The party candidate from Shrawasti, Rizwan Zahir, was booked under the Gangster Act.
Samajwadi Party MLA Amarmani Tripathi, undergoing life term in jail in poetess Madhumita Shukla murder case.
Pappu Yadav, convicted in a murder case, will file a plea for suspension of his conviction in Patna High Court

Radheshyam Sharma