human development

 The Delhi based legal team of actor Sanjay Dutt is all set to file its review petition to the Supreme Court within the coming one or two days. This petition is against the judgment handed down by the court on March 21^st this year.

 

A case was filed against Dutt stating that he had in his possession an automatic rifle, an AK-56 in a notified area during the infamous Mumbai blasts on March 12, 1993. Action was taken against him under the TADA (Terrorist and disruptive activities prevention Act) as well as the Arms Act. The charges against him under the TADA Act were dismissed, but he was held guilty under the Arms Act. He had appealed against this decision. On March 21 of this year, Supreme Court upheld his conviction under the Arms Act and has imposed a five year sentence on him. 

The legal team of Dutt contends that since the charges under TADA were dismissed, they cannot be treated as the main evidence of offense committed under another act – in this case the Arms Act.  The TADA court had imposed a sentence of six years on the actor under the Arms Act. According to Dutt’s lawyers, the petition aims at pointing out "a binding decision of the SC based on an apparent error in a judgment."  

The Supreme Court in its final judgment upheld the verdict though the term of imprisonment was reduced to five years. The judgment was handed down on March 21 and Dutt was given 30 days to surrender or file a plea. 

The new plea submits that the judgment given by a three judge bench in the Rajiv Gandhi killer case must be reviewed. According to this judgment, confessions given under TADA will be valid elsewhere. The 1993 blast case against Dutt relies heavily on this judgment. If the new review petition gets considered, this judgment will have to be reconsidered. 

Dutt has already served a sentence of eighteen months. If the sentence holds, he will have to serve for another three and a half years. 

In case the plea is dismissed, a curative petition can then be filed in order to ensure that proper justice is carried out. 

The latest film under Dutt’s production banner is all set to release on April 12 – barely days before his deadline to surrender ends.