Sanjay Dutt surrenders before TADA court
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt today surrendered before a special TADA sessions court in Mumbai to serve the remaining three and a half years of a five-year sentence under the Arms Act.
After Dutt is identified by his counsel before a judge at the TADA court, he will be taken into judicial custody befire being taken to Arthur Road Jail and once procedures are dealt with there, the Bollywood actor would then be taken to the prison where he will serve out his sentence, most probably, Pune’s Yerwada Jail by dusk.
On Wednesday, Dutt had withdrawn his application seeking to surrender at Yerwada Jail instead of the special TADA court.
He had cited apprehensions of danger to his life in the application. However, the reason for the withdrawal of the application is not known.
Dutt was arrested for illegal possession of an AK-56 rifle at his Bandra bungalow after the March 1993 serial bomb blasts.
He was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, commonly known as TADA, and the Arms Act.
He was later acquitted under TADA but found guilty under the Arms Act, and sentenced to six years in jail.
The Supreme Court remitted his sentence by one year.
Sanjay has already spent 18 months in jail in 1993-95 and another 15 months in 1995-97, followed by a brief stint of seven months in 2006-07.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected pleas of two film producers who had appealed for granting more time to Sanjay as a huge amount of money was riding on the name of the superstar for their films. An estimate pins Rs. 278 crore as the sum riding on Dutt’s back.
Sanjay’s brush with prison
First tryst with law: Sanjay Dutt faced drug addiction in his early years. He is also said to have spent some time in a rehabilitation centre. He spent 5 months in prison in late 1982 after he was accused of possessing illegal drugs. Later, the actor also spent some time in a Texas rehab clinic in the United States.
Mumbai blast and the allegations: The tragic 1993 Mumbai blasts changed the lives of several people, but for Sanjay Dutt, it has been the most pestering and worst case of his life. Riding high on the success of his movie Khalnayak, Sanjay Dutt was in for shock when he was named in the chargesheet filed in connection with the Mumbai blasts early that year. Sanjay Dutt was charged under special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court under Arms Act in relation with 1993 Mumbai blasts. It was alleged that Sanjay Dutt possessed illegal arms that were delievered to him by terrorist Abu Salem. Dutt was also accused of hatching terrorist conspiracy.
The Bollywood actor was arrested in 1994 from Mumbai airport. The actor was charged under TADA (Terrorist And Disruptive Activities Act) and he spent around 16 months in jail before being released on bail in October 1995.
He was again arrested in December 1995 and remained in prison for almost two years. He was released on bail again in 1997. Dutt’s Bollywood career suffered a lot as he could not keep his commitments of dates with various filmmakers during the time. His movies were releasing in meanwhile but he did not have any major offers in hand.
Mumbai blasts case: haunting revisit: The Mumbai blasts case was re-opened in 2006 and once again Sanjay Dutt spent most of his time (exactly 7 months) in jail. Sanjay was sentenced to 6 years jail in July 2007 for illegal possession of arms. The verdict, however, was a relief to Dutt as the court acquitted him of the terrorist conspiracy charges.