Anti-Sanjay Dutt pleas come up tomorrow

Mumbai, Mar 11 (UNI) The TADA court will hear three important applications tomorrow impacting the fate of Bollywood film star Sanjay Dutt, one of the 100 people found guilty in the serial bomb blasts that rocked the country's financial and entertainment capital 14 years ago.

Having reserved an order on the actor's plea seeking relief under the Probation of Offenders Act (POA), the designated court judge Pramod Kode will take up application of an intervener who has opposed granting relief to Dutt.

In the second application, 69 of the convicts have sought parity with Dutt, pleading they, too, like the actor, be cleared of the terror charge and sentenced only under the provisions of Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.

Dutt was acquitted under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act but found guilty under the Arms Act and faces punishment of upto 10 years in jail.

In the third application, 68 of the convicts have sought their retrial on the ground they were not deeply involved in the case.

After disposing off the applications, the judge may announce the date when he would start pronouncing sentence on the 100 convicts.

Of those convicted, more than 40 could face death penalty as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the prosecuting agency, has demanded maximum punishment for all the convicts.

Prosecution has opposed Dutt's plea for probation with the Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam saying it would send a wrong signal to society. He contended the report of probation officer should be called only after the court formulates an opinion regarding Dutt's application.

Of the 123 accused who faced the trial, 100 were convicted and 23 acquitted in one of the longest trials in the world's judicial history.

The trial had begun on June 30, 1995, and concluded in 2003 after the court examined 686 witnesses and two accused-turned-approvers and recorded evidence running into 14,000 pages.

The judge started delivering verdict in the case on September 12, last year and concluded the first stage of the process on December 4.

A series of 13 bomb explosions on March 12, 1993, had claimed 257 lives and left over 700 wounded.

UNI