Supreme Court to hear Sanjay Dutts bail plea

The Supreme Court will today hear the bail plea of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been sentenced for six years of rigorous imprisonment by a TADA Court under the Arms Act.

New Delhi, Aug 20 : The Supreme Court will today hear the bail plea of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been sentenced for six years of rigorous imprisonment by a TADA Court under the Arms Act.

Earlier, the apex court had deferred the hearing and issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court had sought response from the CBI to know the stand of the prosecuting agency, but it did not file its response to incarcerated Dutt's interim bail plea.

The reason cited by the CBI sources for non-filing of the response was the non-availability of the conviction judgment.Dutt had filed his bail petition challenging his sentence, and seeking an interim bail. Dutt's lawyers' contended that Dutt's conviction under the Arms Act was wrong because no weapon was recovered from him. They also say that the actor's conviction was based on a confessional statement, which he later retracted. The Dutt family is challenging the judgement given by a special TADA court in Mumbai for the illegal possession of arms on July 31.

Dutt has already spent nearly 16 months in prison before his release on bail in 1996. He is currently lodged in Pune's Yerwada jail.

The apex court will also hear the appeals and bail pleas of three other convicts - Zaibunnisa Kazi, Ibrahim Musa Chauhan aka Baba Chauhan, and Aziz Shaikh.

In all these cases, notices have already been issued to the CBI seeking its response.

Chauhan has been sentenced for ten years imprisonment in the Mumbai serial blasts case. Chauhan alias Baba Chauhan has been convicted for supplying AK-56 rifles, and hand grenades to Sanjay Dutt.

Sanjay's friend Chauhan has been found guilty under TADA and the Arms Act.

ANI