Sanjay Dutt in Supreme Court.








Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt who announced last month that he will fight the 2009 general elections from Lucknow seat on a Samajwadi Party ticket, on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on his conviction for possessing firearms, to enable him fight the forthcoming general elections. This plea is separate from another filed by Sanjay Dutt at the Supreme Court challenging his conviction, the Supreme Court has yet to adjudicate on it. Sanjay Dutt was convicted in the 1993 Mumbai Serial Blast Case to 6 years in jail by the anti-terror court.
Sanjay Dutt has sought parity with cricketer-turned-Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhu, whose conviction in a case of unintentional killing was stayed by the apex court in 2007 to enable him run for elections. Te petion was filled by Advocate Gaurav Bhatia, who represented Sanjay Dutt, and the plea is to be heard on Friday. As per electoral laws, a person convicted for a criminal offence and sentenced to jail to more than 2 years in prison is barred from running for any elections.
Sanjay Dutt was arrested on July 31, 2007, when the Mumbai anti-terror court sentenced him to 6 years in jail. On Nov 27, 2007, the Supreme Court granted him bail, pending a decision on his plea against conviction.
Sanjay Dutt had pleaded that he has no criminal antecedents, he belonged to a family of well-known social servants, and his father representing North West Mumbai several times in the Lok Sabha. Sanjay Dutt Dutt also sought suspension of his conviction on the grounds that the United Nation had chosen him as Goodwill Ambassador on Malnutrition.
Sanjay Dutt while seeking parity with Navjot Singh Sidhu, said like he too was not accused of any serious or grave criminal antecedents. Navjot Singh Sidhu, was convicted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2007 for unintentionally killing a person after a minor road accident. Navjot Singh Sidhu quit his Amritsar Lok Sabha seat and approached the apex court to seek suspension of his conviction to fight for the same seat in a by-poll, which was granted by the court.