The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt's plea seeking suspension of his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt's plea seeking suspension of his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan reserved the order after hearing contentions of Dutt's counsel and the CBI, which opposed his plea.
ADVERTISEMENT
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Dutt, contended that the actor was convicted under the Arms Act solely on his confessional statement and that he was absolved of serious charges under TADA.
Pleading for suspension of conviction, he further said the TADA court had held that Dutt was not involved in any conspiracy in the blasts' case.
The CBI, however, opposed the plea, saying that the conviction was not only on the confessional statement but the court's findings were based on recoveries, disclosures and corroborative evidences.
The actor, who has joined Samajwadi Party and decided to contest the polls from Lucknow, sought suspension of the conviction on issues similar to the ones considered by the apex court while staying the conviction of BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu in a road rage case.
Dutt contended that his conduct during the trial should be considered for granting him relief like cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The apex court had on January 23, 2007 stayed the conviction and the three-year sentence of Sidhu in a road rage case paving way for him to contest the Amritsar Lok Sabha bypoll after he resigned in the wake of Punjab and Haryana High Court holding him guilty of the offence.
Dutt, 50, pleaded the apex court to consider his case on grounds similar to that of Sidhu and to take into account that he was absolved of the serious offence under TADA apart from taking cognisance of the fact that there was not a single case registered against him before the Mumbai blasts.
The Bollywood star, who was sentenced to six-year jail term on July 31, 2007, had spent 18 months in jail during the pendency of the trial.
He filed an appeal against his November 28, 2006 conviction in the apex court, which had granted him bail on November 27, 2007.
Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act for possession of an AK-56 rifle, a 9 mm pistol and grenades given by co-accused Abu Salem before the Mumbai blasts.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
