Sanjay Dutt seeks leniency from court
(No Ratings Yet)Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted for possessing illegal weapons, today appealed in a TADA court for leniency in sentencing him, saying that he has obeyed all the conditions of his bail so far.
Dutt’s plea comes two days after he was cleared of charges of conspiracy in a series of bomb blasts that rocked Mumbai on March 12, 1993, but was found guilty under Arms Act.
Lawyers say his offence could still carry a sentence of up to 10 years in jail. He has already served 15 months (from July 4, 1994 to October 16, 1995) in jail.
“Court has recorded statement of Sanjay Dutt on the point of sentence. He has assigned the grounds for leniency and given detailed statement,” said, Ujjwal Nikam, public prosecutor.
The court has given time to Dutt till December 19 to surrender, after the actor sought time to sort out his personal and film commitments.
Dutt also requested the court to allow him to go abroad in connection with work of a cancer trust started by his father late Sunil Dutt.
The court made no comment on Dutt’s plea but asked him to surrender by December 19.
A TADA court delivering its verdict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, on Tuesday found Dutt guilty under the Arms Act and but not under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.
In a major relief to Dutt, TADA court Judge P D Kode said Dutt was not a “terrorist”, and hence not guilty for conspiracy.
Dutt was booked for possessing an AK-56 rifle that had come in a consignment of arms and explosives meant for use in the Mumbai serial blasts that killed 257 people.
— ANI
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