It took Special TADA Judge PD Kode barely 20 minutes to tear off the terrorist tag that was attached to actor Sanjay Dutt 13 years ago.
Sanjay Dutt kept illegal arms, but wasn’t part of blasts plot: Tada court
MUMBAI: It took Special TADA Judge PD Kode barely 20 minutes on Tuesday to tear off the “terrorist” tag that was attached to actor Sanjay Dutt 13 years ago.
Acquitting Dutt of the charge of aiding and abetting in the 1993 serial blasts conspiracy, Kode held him guilty of the lesser charge of unauthorised possession of weapons.
“In my reasoning, I have not found him (Dutt) to be a terrorist,” the judge told a packed courtroom. Pained at being labelled a “terrorist” by the prosecution, Dutt had requested Kode during the trial to be spared of such a characterisation until found guilty. The 47-year-old star, who was tense through the proceedings, broke into a broad smile when he was given the clean chit.
Dutt has been given time till December 19 to surrender before the court. He sought time to wrap up pending film projects and to make necessary arrangements for his daughter, Trishala (18), who is studying law in New York.
The verdict is a mixed blessing for Dutt. Though acquitted of all charges under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, he was held guilty under sections 3 and 7 of the Arms Act, 1959. While section 3 (possessing an unlicensed 9mm pistol) carries a one to three years jail term, section 7 (possessing an AK-56 rifle, a prohibited weapon) carries a jail term of five to ten years.
Acquitting Dutt of all charges under TADA, Kode held that the actor had acquired the AK-56 rifle and its ammunition for self-defence. He accepted Dutt’s confession, in which he had owned up to obtaining the weapon to protect his family, which was receiving threats for helping riot victims. The prosecution also failed to establish that the arms found with Dutt were part of the consignment smuggled by absconding prime accused Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.
Dutt’s friends Yusuf Nulwalla (54) and Kersi Adajania (76) were convicted of possessing and destroying the weapons in Dutt’s possession. Zaibunissa Kazi, whose house was used by gangster Abu Salem to store two AK-56 rifles returned by Dutt, was convicted under TADA for abetting terrorists.
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