The Supreme Court declined on Friday to review its judgment upholding the conviction of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 Mumbai serial blast cases under the Arms Act. Since he has served 1-1/2 years in prison, he will have to surrender on or before May 16 to serve the remaining 3-1/2 years.
A Bench of Justices of P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan dismissed a petition filed by Sanjay Dutt, observing that “it has no merits.” Mr. Dutt was convicted for illegally possessing weapons in a notified area. The Bench reduced the six-year sentence awarded by the TADA court to five years. “The circumstances and the nature of the offence as analysed and discussed above are serious and we are of the view that they do not warrant the appellant the benefit of the provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act,” the Bench said. “However, taking note of various aspects, we reduce the sentence to a minimum period, viz., 6 years to 5 years.”
The bench also dismissed the review petitions of six other convicts — Yusuf Mohsin Nulwalla, Khalil Ahmed Sayed Ali Nazir, Mohamed Dawood Yusuf Khan, Shaikh Asif Yusuf, Muzammil Umar Kadri and Mohd Ahmed Shaikh.
