Sanjay Dutt's fate to be decided tomorrow

Mumbai, May 15 (UNI) A designated court will pass confidential orders tomorrow in respect to the application filed by Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt and his three associates under Probation of Offenders Act, seeking release on basis of their conduct.

Dutt and the three others -- Yusuf Nullwala, Rusi Mulla and Kersi Adajenia -- had filed the plea few months ago seeking relief under section 4 of Probation of Offenders Act which was however, opposed by the prosecuting agency CBI.

Tomorrow, however, Dutt and his three friends are not required to appear before the TADA judge P D Kode.

The court, according to defence advocates, will pass a confidential order, which will be disclosed when their cases are taken up for sentencing. The court will start delivering the sentence from Friday.

Dutt and his three friends were cleared of charges under TADA, however, they were found guilty under different provisions of Arms Act. Senior counsels V R Manohar and Harshad Ponda had argued the PoA applications.

The special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has opposed their plea.

Dutt faces a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of ten years. He had spent nearly 18 months in jail, which means, he faces a maximum of seven years. In case, he is sentenced, it could be suspended giving him a chance to appeal in Supreme Court, according to legal experts.

In the PoA application, Dutt has cited his good conduct during the period of the trial and the services of his father late Sunil Dutt and mother late Nargis Dutt.

Meanwhile, the TADA court is receiving letters from people on a daily basis, with some demanding that Dutt be released as he is innocent and another section demanding stern action against him.

Recently, Aamir Ansari, a boy from Muscat, who is a poet, has written a poetic letter to the court, requesting the court to release Dutt on the ground that he is a first time offender and has a bright future in Bollywood.

UNI