The Punjab and Haryana high court has dismissed the plea of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Yadwinder Singh Yadu seeking a stay on conviction in a 2002 criminal case, to contest the upcoming assembly polls in Punjab.
The high court bench comprising of Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Sant Parkash observed that a representative of the people should be a man of a clear antecedent, but to the contrary, there were 14 criminal cases registered against him, out of which he is undertrial in two cases.
“The registration of criminal cases against the applicant shows his character, antecedents and mental propensity. Though he has been acquitted in most of the cases, the registration of so many cases would lead to an irresistible and unerring conclusion that he is certainly not entitled to the relief claimed,” the bench said, adding that it apprehends that if the order of conviction is stayed, there is every possibility and likelihood that he may indulge in similar activities and may cause obstructions in the coming elections.
He was convicted in November 2016 in an FIR registered on July 30, 2002, at the Khanna police station in Ludhiana. He was convicted along with some co-accused to undergo three years of imprisonment on November 18, 2016. A convict of three and more years is barred from contesting polls. The FIR primarily was of causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon among other offences.
He had moved an application for a stay on the conviction that he wanted to contest assembly polls from the Khanna constituency and due to the conviction of three years awarded to him, he would not be able to contest the same.
The court observed that relief against conviction could not be claimed as a right before the court of law and it had to stay the conviction in a judicious manner after considering the facts and circumstances of the cases.
As such, discretion had always to be exercised by courts judiciously and not according to whim, caprice and there was no exceptional circumstance to exercise discretionary power in the case in hand, the bench added.
Source Link
Social media is bold.
Social media is young.
Social media raises questions.
Social media is not satisfied with an answer.
Social media looks at the big picture.
Social media is interested in every detail.
social media is curious.
Social media is free.
Social media is irreplaceable.
But never irrelevant.
Social media is you.
(With input from news agency language)
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our journalism free from government and corporate pressure
0 Comments