Navjot Sidhu, the cricketer turned jester turned minister, wants to continue to appear on TV because apparently what he does at night is no one’s business.

The jurist A.G. Noorani, for whom no newspaper, magazine or TV station in India seems to have any use, reminds him of a precedent, in The Dawn, Pakistan.

The issue, writes Noorani, is not of personal inconvenience, it is the dignity of office:

“The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N.T. Rama Rao, an actor by profession, decided to direct a film and act in it. A citizen challenged this in the high court, which dismissed the petition since no law was broken. The court expressed its disquiet, nonetheless.

“Attorney General K. Parasaran, appearing as amicus curiae, said, ‘In the interest of general public and to sustain the purity of public life, the holder of such office should not engage himself in any activity which leads directly to personal gain in material terms or which will undermine the dignity of the office.'”

Read the full article: Ministers as actors