Sanjay Dutt barred from elections

Munnabhai ain't gonna be an MP anytime soon. The Supreme Court has disallowed Sanjay Dutt from contesting the elections.

In my opinion the decision is absolutely correct. Criminalisation of politics needs to be regulated. The Parliament had expressed its resolve to stop the participation of nefarious elements in politics. Any other decision would have set a bad precedent as the Supreme Court itself mentioned

I know a lot of Sanjay Dutt fans would be disappointed that he cannot contest however the fact remains that he has been convicted under the Arms Act and unless and until his conviction is set aside he cannot contest. There never was any doubt to start with that his case would never be upheld. Once he was convicted he should have realised his limitations and should have thought better of contesting.

The judgement is landmark in itself considering it sends out the strongest message that people with criminal antecedents have no space in the public sphere. Sanjay Dutt and his exemplary record during the trial notwithstanding he has a criminal record to himself and an example needs to be set. The greater good of the nation should take precedence over the future of an individual candidate. Further more the right to contest is not a fundamental right, but a statutory right, so the Supreme Court cannot be accused of violating Sanjay's fundamental rights in any way.

The comparisons with Navjot Singh too ain't right. The two cases are entirely different. In one instance Sidhu voluntarily resigned after his conviction, vacated his seat and then approached the Supreme Court to stay his conviction which then allowed him to contest.
As of today Sanjay stands convicted as such cannot contest.

That the benchmark is now set further action needs to be taken in decriminalization of politics in a big way with the politicians present in the system needing to take the biggest part. As far as Sanjay is concerned he may get his wife to fight and get himself elected by proxy. Knowing our politics it is quite possible that Sanjay and the Samajwadi Party might resort to it.

However a person with a crime conviction should not be allowed to contest whoever it maybe. If and when the courts do stay his conviction he is welcome to represent me in the Parliament. Till then no can do.