Indian court upholds the conviction of top actor
Source: Agencies |
March 22, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
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INDIA'S Supreme Court yesterday upheld the weapons conviction of Bollywood's leading man Sanjay Dutt and ordered him to report to prison within four weeks in a case linked to the deadliest terror attack in Indian history.
Dutt's failed appeal of his conviction was part of a broader ruling by the Supreme Court on cases stemming from the 1993 bombings that killed 257 people in Mumbai. A total of 100 people were convicted of involvement in the blasts.
The court upheld the death sentence given to Yakub Memon, who is a brother of Ibrahim 'Tiger' Memon, an accused mastermind of the bombings who remains at large. However, the court commuted to life in prison the death sentences given to 10 other men convicted of carrying out the blasts. Some of the men have been in prison for nearly two decades.
Dutt originally had been sentenced to serve six years in prison on the charge of possessing an automatic rifle and a pistol that were supplied to him by men subsequently convicted in the bombings. He served 18 months in jail before he was released on bail in November 2007 pending an appeal in the top court.
The court shaved one year off his sentence yesterday and ordered him imprisoned within a month to finish out the remaining 3 1/2 years of his sentence. Dutt had earlier been acquitted of the more serious charges of terrorism and conspiracy.
The actor's case was part of a sprawling Mumbai bombings trial that has dragged on for 18 years. Dutt maintains he knew nothing about the bombing plot and that he asked for the guns to protect his family - his mother was Muslim and his father Hindu - after receiving threats during sectarian riots.
Dutt's lawyer Satish Maneshinde said the 53-year-old actor would take some time before deciding on his next step.
Dutt's failed appeal of his conviction was part of a broader ruling by the Supreme Court on cases stemming from the 1993 bombings that killed 257 people in Mumbai. A total of 100 people were convicted of involvement in the blasts.
The court upheld the death sentence given to Yakub Memon, who is a brother of Ibrahim 'Tiger' Memon, an accused mastermind of the bombings who remains at large. However, the court commuted to life in prison the death sentences given to 10 other men convicted of carrying out the blasts. Some of the men have been in prison for nearly two decades.
Dutt originally had been sentenced to serve six years in prison on the charge of possessing an automatic rifle and a pistol that were supplied to him by men subsequently convicted in the bombings. He served 18 months in jail before he was released on bail in November 2007 pending an appeal in the top court.
The court shaved one year off his sentence yesterday and ordered him imprisoned within a month to finish out the remaining 3 1/2 years of his sentence. Dutt had earlier been acquitted of the more serious charges of terrorism and conspiracy.
The actor's case was part of a sprawling Mumbai bombings trial that has dragged on for 18 years. Dutt maintains he knew nothing about the bombing plot and that he asked for the guns to protect his family - his mother was Muslim and his father Hindu - after receiving threats during sectarian riots.
Dutt's lawyer Satish Maneshinde said the 53-year-old actor would take some time before deciding on his next step.
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