The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on Friday the petition seeking suspension of sentence and release on bail of Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, incarcerated in Yerawada jail in Pune, having been sentenced to six years imprisonment for alleged possession of deadly weapons in 1993.

Senior Counsel Fali S  Nariman mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan which fixed August 10 for hearing.

Mr Nariman said Dutt had been sentenced to six years imprisonment under the Arms Act and taken into custody since July 31 without even serving the copy of the judgement.

Dutt filed a petition on Tuesday challenging the sentence of six years by the TADA Court on July 31 for the alleged possession of illegal arms including an AK-56 in 1993.

Unaware of evidence
While seeking Dutt’s acquittal the petition said, “It is pertinent to note that no arm or ammunition was ever recovered from the petitioner or from his residence or at his instance.”

“He (Dutt) is unaware of the evidence on which the Special Judge has relied upon to form the basis of conviction and he is unaware as to the reasons for which he has been convicted and currently incarcerated. Consequently, he cannot formulate any grounds to assail the said conviction and sentence.”

Dutt, 48, had spent 16 months in prison after his arrest in April 1993 and was on bail till the date of sentence.
He was convicted by the court in November last year under the Arms Act. While lifting charges under draconian Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the court had mentioned that Dutt was not a terrorist.