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Court gives Sanjay Dutt two days to surrender
20th Dec 2006 09.00 IST
By Agencies

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt , convicted for illegal possession of arms in the 1993 bomb blasts case, was Tuesday given two more days by a court in Mumbai to surrender.

But the actor might face rough weather with the CBI set to oppose his plea to seek release under the Probation of Offenders Act on grounds of good conduct and behaviour.

Dutt was held guilty under the Arms Act for illegally possessing a 9mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle by the TADA court, which had earlier directed h8im to surrender today. The court is yet to pronounce the quantum of punishment and Sanjay faces a prison term of five to 10 years.

He sought time to surrender and said he may urge the court of Judge P D Kode to release him on probation on ground of good conduct. His plea will be heard on December 21.

But CBI prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said, "We are going to oppose Sanjay's plea for release on probation on grounds of good conduct as he is not entitled to benefits under the Probation of Offenders Act."

Nikam told the court that this act could be applied in this case but Dutt was not entitled to claim any benefits in view of the gravity of his offence.

Under the act, the court may use its discretion to release a person found guilty on grounds of good conduct on a personal bond for a period not exceeding three years, instead of sending Dutt to jail.

Dutt has argued that at the time of making submissions on the quantum of sentence, he would seek the grant of probation to him under section four of the Probation of Offenders Act of 1958. In the event, he is taken into custody it would be post-conviction custody and constitute part of his sentence.

The inevitable result of this, Dutt said, would be that the court may not be able to exercise its discretion in his favour by granting him probation as it would constitute a review of its own order which is banned in the statute by virtue of section 363 of CR.PC.

Dutt argued that provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act have to be applied prior to sentencing as has been authoritatively held by the Supreme Court and the Punjab High Court. Consequently, if he was taken into custody, it would frustrate his right to seek relief under the same act before the TADA court.

Section four of the Probation of Offenders Act states that "when any person is found guilty of having committed an offence not punishable with death or imprisonment for life and the court is of the opinion that having regard to the circumstances of the case, including nature of offence and character of offender, it is expedient to release him on probation of good conduct then the court may instead of sentencing him at once to any punishment direct that he may be released on a bond to appear and receive sentence when called upon during such period not exceeding three years as the court may direct and in the meantime keep peace and good behaviour".

Dutt sought more time to surrender, saying he had to make arrangements for the education of his daughter Trishala who is studying in the US. She is expected to be in India from December 23 for the Christmas holidays and he wanted to spend time with her, he said.

Dutt also said he had to shoot for incomplete films and do dubbing for other Bollywood projects, for which he needed time. Besides, he had to manage his family's property as his father Sunil Dutt had died without making a will, he said.

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