Sanjay Dutt to spend over three years in jail
22 March 2013 7:07 AM IST
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the jail term handed over to film star Sanjay Dutt by a TADA court for illegal possession of arms during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. The court, which also ruled out his release on probation on the ground that the nature of his offence was serious, has given him four weeks of time to surrender.
Dutt was convicted by the TADA court for illegal possession of a 9 mm pistol and a AK-56 rifle which was part of the consignment of weapons and explosives brought to India for the coordinated serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured over 700.
The court confirmed death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, brother of one of the absconding main conspirators, Tiger Memon, for his role in the serial blasts.
Bringing to a closure the appeals by the convicts and the state in the case, a bench of justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan reduced Dutt’s jail term from six years to five years, which means he will have to spend another three and half years in jail as he already has spent 18 months in jail earlier. The court was delivering its judgement on the appeals by the convicts and the state in the case. Coming out of the court, Priya Dutt, sister of Sanjay and MP from Mumbai, was seen trying hard to hold back her tears and refused to make any comment. The court refused to give Dutt the benefit of Probation of Offenders Act. However, taking note of various aspects, it reduced the sentence to minimum period, viz., from 6 years to 5 years.
The capital punishment of the other 10 death row convicts was commuted to life sentence by the court. It said they were people of low strata in the society and were without any regular jobs and had fallen prey to the main conspirators for their hidden motives. The court, however, clarified that they would be imprisoned for life until their death. The court upheld the life term awarded to 16 out of 18 convicts.
Sanjay Dutt’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde said he has spoken to the actor who told him that he was strong enough to go through whatever the court has asked him to undergo.
‘He has accepted the judgement, he said adding ‘he will go through the verdict and will consider all the legal recourses available to him’.
Dutt was convicted by the TADA court for illegal possession of a 9 mm pistol and a AK-56 rifle which was part of the consignment of weapons and explosives brought to India for the coordinated serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured over 700.
The court confirmed death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, brother of one of the absconding main conspirators, Tiger Memon, for his role in the serial blasts.
Bringing to a closure the appeals by the convicts and the state in the case, a bench of justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan reduced Dutt’s jail term from six years to five years, which means he will have to spend another three and half years in jail as he already has spent 18 months in jail earlier. The court was delivering its judgement on the appeals by the convicts and the state in the case. Coming out of the court, Priya Dutt, sister of Sanjay and MP from Mumbai, was seen trying hard to hold back her tears and refused to make any comment. The court refused to give Dutt the benefit of Probation of Offenders Act. However, taking note of various aspects, it reduced the sentence to minimum period, viz., from 6 years to 5 years.
The capital punishment of the other 10 death row convicts was commuted to life sentence by the court. It said they were people of low strata in the society and were without any regular jobs and had fallen prey to the main conspirators for their hidden motives. The court, however, clarified that they would be imprisoned for life until their death. The court upheld the life term awarded to 16 out of 18 convicts.
Sanjay Dutt’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde said he has spoken to the actor who told him that he was strong enough to go through whatever the court has asked him to undergo.
‘He has accepted the judgement, he said adding ‘he will go through the verdict and will consider all the legal recourses available to him’.
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