Sanjay Dutt allowed to travel abroad

A Bench of justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan granted the plea of the Bollywood actor who had earlier been  convicted under the Arms Act for possessing illegal arms, but shortened the period of stay sought by him for film shooting till January next year.
Dutt wanted to travel to Thailand and South Africa for “professional commitments” till June next year.

The court, however, took into consideration the submission of Additional Solicitor General who submitted that the petitioner would be required in the country as the main appeal in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case would begin by the end of this year.

A special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court had on July 31, 2007 awarded Sanjay Dutt six years of rigorous  imprisonment for illegal possession weapons  (an AK-47 rifle) but  later acquitted him of the charges related to the 1993 serial blasts.