Today was a big day for Munnabhai because today, the top court of the country is set to review his petition and decide whether he goes to jail or not. If the petition is denied, Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt will have to serve a term of three and a half years in jail. But
unfortunately, the decision of Supreme Court came against Sanjay Dutt.
His review petition was rejected by SC. A bench of justices P Sathasivam
and BS Chauhan refused to review its verdict on Dutt's plea. This judgment is in connection to the violation of the Arms Act by the actor during the infamous Mumbai blasts of March 12, 1993. More than 250 people died in Mumbai during these blasts and 700 were injured. At this time, the actor was found in possesion of a 9 mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle in a notified area in clear violation of the Arms Act. He was charged under the Arms Act and the TADA (Terorist and disruptive activities prevention Act). Later, the charges against him brought under TADA were dismissed, but he was found guilty under the Arm’s Act.
This judgment was upheld by the apex court and the final decision was handed down on 21st March. His sentence was reduced from six to five years as the court stated that the nature of his offence was serious. Dutt has already served one and a half years of prison sentence. So, he has three and a half years to complete. The court had given him four months to surrender and he was directed to surrender on 18th April. Considering his commitments, the surrender period was extended by another month ‘on humanitarian grounds’.
In the meantime, the Delhi based legal team of Dutt had filed a petition against the ruling of the Supreme Court. It said that since Sanjay Dutt was acquitted under TADA, the confessions made under TADA could not be used as evidence against him in another case. This actually challenges the judgment handed down by a three judge bench in the Rajiv Gandhi Killer case. It is this petition which will be reviewed today by a bench of P. Sathasivam and B. S. Chauhan. The bench will also review similar petitions surrendered by six other convicts in the same case. These six are Yusuf Mohsin Nulwalla, Khalil Ahmed Sayed Ali Nazir, Mohamed Dawood Yusuf Khan, Shaikh Asif Yusuf, Muzammil Umar Kadri and Mohd Ahmed Shaikh.
This is the last ray of hope for Sanjay Dutt. If the court grants his petition, he would have successfully left behind a very dark chapter in his life, but if the petition is denied, he will be serving 42 months in jail.
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