Supreme Court turns down Sanjay Dutt's plea

New Delhi, March 31 (IANS) Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt will not be able to contest the forthcoming general elections as the Supreme Court Tuesday refused to suspend his conviction in a criminal case.

A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan refused to stay Dutt's conviction, saying his case does not have parity with that of cricketer-turned-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had resigned his seat after his conviction in a case of unintentional killing.

The bench said Sidhu had pleaded for suspension of his conviction only after quitting the seat held by him earlier.

Dutt, sentenced to six years in jail by a Mumbai anti-terror court, moved the court early this month seeking parity with Sidhu, whose conviction in a case of unintentional killing was stayed by the apex court in 2007 to enable him contest elections.

As per electoral laws, a person convicted for a criminal offence and sentenced to jail for more than two years is barred from running for elections.