All Articles on Sanjay Dutt verdict Here - Page 4

Sanjay Dutt to undergo 'aptitude test'

04th Aug 2007 10.00 IST
By Agencies

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt will undergo an 'aptitude test' to ascertain his preferences before being allotted work at Yeravada prison where he is serving the six- year jail term given to him in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

The 48-year-old star, who was brought to the jail in Pune from Mumbai Thursday night, will be asked his choices and preferences before he is allotted manual work as part of the rigorous imprisonment.

The choices for prison work include textiles, laundry, baking, paper printing, carpentry and painting, jail sources said Friday.

"Normally we ask the preferences of prisoners and try to know the aptitude before assigning them daily work," a source said.

Among the reasons cited for shifting Dutt from Arthur Road Jail to Yeravada Jail was that the former is only meant for holding people facing trial and that the actor could not be given compulsory manual work in the prison in Mumbai.

Another reason was the security concern for Dutt, who is now being held in an egg-shaped cell meant for high-security prisoners.

Dutt was given the six-year term on Tuesday by a TADA court in Mumbai.

The Yeravada Jail, which has a vast sprawling campus, generates a good amount of revenue through the sale of products made by the prisoners, including chairs, cotton chaddars and leather chappals.

http://www.apunkachoice.com/happenings/20070804-0.html

Sanjay Dutt - Six Years Imprisonment

By Krishna Jewel, AllBollywood.com Staff
July 31, 2007

The verdict is out.

A special TADA court has passed a verdict on 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

Actor Sanjay Dutt has been sentenced to six years imprisonment for his involvement in the serial blasts.

When the judge announced the verdict, Dutt was in tears. While in today's court proceedings, the judge said that Dutt had committed a series of offences and he was mature when he committed these, adding that Dutt made Yusuf Nalwala commit the offence.

Dutt's aide Russi Mulla, who helped to destroy the firearms, was given a suspended sentence of one year, in view of his advanced age and behavior under the offenders of the Probation Act. He was fined Rs 1 lakh. According to judge, Dutt was present at a dinner party attended by Dawood Ibrahim.

Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act for illegal possession of weapons, was facing between five years and 10 years in jail. He had spent 18 months in jail as an Undertrial in 1994.

http://www.allbollywood.com/v2/bd/stc/nws/2007/7/31/25526.sh tml

Sanjay Dutt Faces First Days In Jail

By Krishna Jewel, AllBollywood.com Staff
August 01, 2007

Following the sentencing handed down by a court giving Sanjaya Dutt a six - year jail term in connection with the 1993 serial blasts case, the actor spent his first day in captivity at the high-security Arthur Road Jail while he struggles to come to terms with reality after the initial shock.

Today Dutt's lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, met the star in barrack number one of the jail, which is used to hold people facing trial.

Following the meeting, Maneshinde said Dutt was doing fine and denied reports of him having some health problems.

A man who was today taken from Arthur Road Jail for a hearing in court having been accused of cheating, claimed he too was confined in barrack number one and had seen Dutt in a state of shock yesterday. The man claimed Dutt ate only fruits and refused other food.

Jail authorities, however, were not divulging any information in regard to the celebrity prisoner. Dutt spent 16 months in the same prison in two spells after his arrest in 1993.

Barrack number one of the jail in central Mumbai houses older prisoners and 'well-to-do Undertrials', accounding to sources.

Today high-ranking officials, inluding Inspector General of Prisons Satish Mathur, DIG (Prisons) S P Yadav and Arthur Road Jail Superintendent Swati Sathe, held a meeting to discuss whether Dutt, a convict, can serve his sentence in a jail meant for persons facing trial.

http://www.allbollywood.com/v2/bd/stc/nws/2007/8/1/25548.sht ml

Bollywood Not In The Party Mood

By Krishna Jewel, AllBollywood.com Staff
August 02, 2007

Bollywood has been left in a state of shock over the TADA court sentencing of six years to Sanjay Dutt, and as a result Bollywood is in no mood to party.

Many of the premieres that were scheduled this week have been scrapped.

The premiere of the release of B.R. Chopra's colourized classic Naya Daur was first to be cancelled by Ravi Chopra.

That was follow by Anubhav Sinha calling off the premiere of his much awaited Cash.

Today the premiere of 'The Simpsons Movie' at PVR Juhu was scheduled, concerned authorities at the theatre were still unsure whether the premiere would be held or not.

In the meantime, fans, friends and producers are still trying to come to terms with Justice Kode's verdict agaist Sanjay Dutt.

http://www.allbollywood.com/v2/bd/stc/nws/2007/8/2/25562.sht ml

Rs. 50 Crore Was Riding On Sanjay

By Krishna Jewel, AllBollywood.com Staff
August 02, 2007

Following the sentencing of Sanjay Dutt on Tuesday of six years in prison for an offence under the Arms Act, star's pending films, Dhamaal, Mr Fraud, Kidnap and Alibaug will be affected as he went to prison immediately.

TADA court Judge Kode acquitted Dutt of charges under TADA, but held him guilty of illegal possession of weapons.

Ever since his name surfaced during the investigation of the March 12, 1993 serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured hundreds of others, it has been a drawn out journey for the 48-year-old actor.

A Bollywood trade analyst said on Monday, "Sanjay was among the top heroes in 1993. Unfortunately, after his arrest then, no big producer wanted to cast him. They thought he would be in and out of jail, and their projects would suffer."

"Around Rs 50 crores (Rs 500 million) is at stake," says Komal Nahta, editor of the trade weekly, Film Information.

The third instalment of the Munnabhai series, Munnabhai Chale Amreika, which Dutt asked to be postponed until he got his legal issues cleared up, may now never be made.

http://www.allbollywood.com/v2/bd/stc/nws/2007/8/2/25565.sht ml

Don't let Dutt smoke in jail: NGO

IANS [Saturday, August 04, 2007>

Chandigarh, Aug 3 (IANS) A Chandigarh-based non-government organisation Friday moved an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Maharashtra government, seeking information on how Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was being allowed to smoke inside the prison.

The NGO - Burning Brain Society - has questioned how the Maharashtra government and prison authorities in the state were allowing Dutt access to cigarettes inside the prison when the law prohibits it. Dutt has been moved to Yerawada Jail to serve his six-year prison term in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings case.

"Smoking does not come under the category of food or life-saving drugs. It is also not a source of entertainment or recreation that a convict should be allowed access to inside the jail," society president Hemant Goswami pointed out in his representation to the Maharashtra government.

Goswami's society had led an anti-smoking campaign in the city to get Chandigarh declared India's first 'smoke-free city' July 15. Smoking is now banned at all public places in the city.

The NGO said that instead of allowing Dutt to smoke, jail authorities should provide him medical advice and anti-nicotine patches or chewing gums to help him get rid of the addiction.

Goswami challenged Dutt's plea to a Mumbai court for probation from his jail term as he was working for cancer awareness.

"Someone who himself is addicted to cancer-causing tobacco should at least refrain from making such statements," he added.

http://nowrunning.com/news/news.asp?it=11457

Sanjay Dutt to prepare for Mahatma Gandhi exam

Syed Firdaus Ashraf | August 03, 2007 20:29 IST

Sanjay Dutt will use part of his jail time to prepare for an examination - on Mahatma Gandhi.

Dutt, who reportedly got interested in the Mahatma after his role in the super-hit film Lagey Raho Munnabhai, met with Gandhian activist and lawyer Asim Sarode soon after his transfer to Yerawada prison, in Pune, from Mumbai's Arthur Road jail.

During their conversation Friday, Dutt expressed his desire to appear for the October 2, 2007, exam, which is timed to coincide with the Mahatma's birth anniversary.

Sarode's organization, Sahyog Trust, is active in the field of human rights and law, and for the last four years has been conducting exams on Gandhi's life and teachings for the inmates of Yerwada.

The paper is set for a maximum of 100 marks, and successful candidates earn a certificate of merit.

By way of preparation, the organization gives each interested inmate three books on Gandhi, two months before the date.

The prescribed texts include a 400-page autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi; 'Mangal Prabhat', a booklet the Mahatma Gandhi wrote while he was an inmate of Yerwada for six years during the 1920s; and a book on Gandhi written by Manuben Gandhi, a close associate.

"Sanjay was very keen to appear for exams when I met him, so I handed him three books to read so that he can appear for the exams on October 2," Sarode told rediff.com

Sarode had seen the Dutt-starrer Lagey Raho Munnabhai and loved it, but never imagined that one day he would get to speak to the star about Gandhian thought.

"I was more than happy to know that Sanjay Dutt wants to be a part of the Gandhian movement; he was in good spirits when I met him," Sarode said.

"He looked like any other prisoner, in prison clothes and basic slippers."

Dutt -- or prisoner C-15170, as he is identified in the Yerwada records -- has slipped into the routine of prison life. He reached the prison late Thursday night, and was kept in a holding cell. This morning, he was shifted along with friend Yusuf Nulwalla (C-15171) to his cell in Special Barracks 3, and had his share of the prison breakfast, poha.

Girlfriend Manyata, and a few friends, had trailed the prison van in their cars, in a sign of solidarity, all the way to Pune, but did not meet with the star either last night or this morning.

He has not yet been assigned any chores; prison officials say he will be tested for fitness and aptitude before suitable occupation is allotted. Sources in the prison say Dutt has expressed a preference for a job in the jail's kitchen.

"He will be one of the cooks who prepare food for the 3,500 prisoners in Yerwada currently," sources said.

The 12 who have been sentenced to death in the 1993 bomb blasts case, including Yakub Memon, have also been shifted to Yerwada.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/aug/03verdict3.htm

Sanjay Dutt gets 6 years jail, leniency plea rejected

July 31, 2007

Rejecting his plea for leniency, actor Sanjay Dutt [Images] was on Tuesday given a six-year jail term in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case by a special court in Mumbai that said some of his acts were "eminently dangerous" and showed a "high element of criminality."

Bringing the curtains down on the 13-year-long trial, Judge P D Kode of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court cancelled Dutt's bail and ordered police to take him into custody.

Dutt was also fined Rs 25,000.

"Sir, I made a mistake 14 years ago. Please give me some time to surrender," a visibly shocked Dutt pleaded in court with folded hands after his hopes of being set free under the Probation of Offenders Act were dashed.

Kode, who has awarded death to 12 convicts and life imprisonment to 20, posted Dutt's plea for hearing later in the afternoon, but rejected it.

Dutt had earlier spent 16 months in jail in two spells following his arrest in 1993.

Dutt's friend Rusi Mulla was given relief under the POA, raising the hopes of Dutt and his fellow convicts Kersi Adjania and Yusuf Nulwalla that they would get a similar benefit. But Kode sentenced Adjania to two years' rigorous imprisonment and gave a five-year term to Nalwalla before pronouncing the sentence for Dutt.

Dutt, who turned 48 on Sunday, was convicted in November 2006 for the illegal possession of a 9mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle, but acquitted of more serious charges under the now defunct anti-terror TADA law.

Dismissing the defence's argument that the weapons were acquired by Dutt for self-defence, Kode termed it an "eminently dangerous act" as the weapons possessed by him were capable of mass destruction though he had not used them.

The court observed that Dutt had not merely committed a criminal act, but also told three others to commit criminal acts on his behalf.

After a court clerk read out the sentence in the case that saw Bollywood personalities launching a campaign seeking clemency for the actor, Dutt was seen chatting with fellow convicts and friends Nulwalla and Adajania.

Commenting on affidavits filed by public personalities like thespian Dilip Kumar in support of Dutt, Kode said these are of "no use" if there was evidence that the actor had indulged in a criminal act.

Kode said Dutt's acquisition of the weapons could not be termed "noble" as it was contrary to the law and indicated scant respect for the law.

"I must say for every citizen, laws of the nation shall be respected. If you don't, I don't expect you to be called a moral person," he said.

Kode said the accused's character is very important while considering if he deserved relief under the POA. He pointed out that apart from possessing weapons, Dutt was a close acquaintance of Anees Ibrahim and had attended a party hosted by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai.

The judge also said Dutt drew another person to commit a crime, which showed a "high element of criminality."

Kode, however, remarked the crimes committed by Dutt and his friends Adajania and Nulwalla were not "anti-social, ghastly, inhuman, immoral or pre-planned" and did not cause any harm to the general public.

Dutt had maintained that he acquired the weapons to "protect" his family in the aftermath of sectarian violence that erupted in Mumbai following the demolition of the Babri mosque in late 1992.

When Dutt's counsel Satish Maneshinde tried to point out that his client's conduct had been excellent, Kode asked Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam for his opinion.

Nikam said: "I appreciate his conduct but there is a legal restraint that a person sentenced to more than three years in prison cannot be granted an extension of bail."

On his way out of the court, Dutt shook hands with Nikam and said, "Thank you, sir."

The 12 blasts that rocked Mumbai on March 12, 1993, claimed 257 lives and injured over 700. They also destroyed property worth crores of rupees.

Dutt will be sent to Arthur Road jail premises in central Mumbai.

Kode does not have the power to grant Dutt bail under the Criminal Procedure Code. Dutt's bail will stand cancelled, lawyer Majid Menon said.

Dutt's lawyers said they would appeal against the judgment in the Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon.

The judge said Dutt had committed a series of offences and that he was mature when he committed these offences. Dutt was almost in tears when the judge pronounced the verdict.

He asked if he could call his daughter Trishala, who lives in New York.

The judge asked Dutt "Where is she?"

"In New York," replied Dutt.

"Be patient," the judge told Dutt.

"Can you grant me bail?" Dutt then asked the judge. "If it was a lesser crime I could, but in this case I don't have the power to do so," the judge said.

Dutt then requested the judge not to have the police surround him and take him away to jail. The judge then said, "Ok, we will give you time till post-lunch."

Sanjay Dutt and Yusuf Nulwalla are to be kept in separate cells in the Arthur Road jail till August 2.

Dutt spent 16 months in prison as an undertrial in the 1993 blasts case.

Text: Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Mumbai | Photograph: Getty Images

Additional Reportage: PTI

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/31verdict4.htm?zcc=rl

Leave Sanju alone, please!

Bollywood was planning a big event in support of Sanjay Dutt. But that has now been stopped by his sister Priya Dutt

Posted On Sunday, August 05, 2007
Ashwini Deshmukh

Sanjay Dutt's verdict brought the film industry to a standstill a couple of days ago. There was a consensus among Bollywood celebs to do something about this. Calls and messages were exchanged between the who's who of glam world for a campaign that was designed and initiated by Shah Rukh Khan and Suneil Shetty. But, now, after a phone call from Priya Dutt, all the preparations have come to a halt.

Says a source, "Priya Dutt called up requesting the actors to stop whatever activity they were planning in support of Sanjay. She felt it would lead to complications as far as Sanjay's case was concerned. So these actors, namely Suneil Shetty and Bunty Walia have cancelled the entire event they had planned."

Reportedly, SRK and Suneil Shetty had planned a campaign in a big way where the entire industry and the known unions would come to action to plea against the verdict.

The source adds, "Calls and messages were sent to all the actors from the industry to gather at a particular hotel. SRK is even designing a website to support the cause."

When contacted Bunty Walia, who was reportedly an active member in this entire plan of action confirmed the news saying, "Yes, we had planned the entire activity to be carried out on Monday but now I have been told to put everything on a hold as per the decision taken." He did not divulge any further information on who had given these instructions.

Meanwhile Suneil Shetty who had a big hand in the event, denied any knowledge about it. He said, "I don't have any idea about such plans. Each of us is very hurt with what happened and we will definitely put our pleas across. But as of now nothing is happening."

When contacted, Riteish Deshmukh, Fardeen Khan and Zayed Khan's secretary, Rajkumar Towari, said, "Yes the event was to happen but now I've got a message saying that the event is put on hold indefinitely."

Bhojpuri star Ravi Kishen said, "The event was to happen but has been put on hold as of now. I received a message that it was to be held on Monday, from Suniel Shetty's. I will get the entire Bhojpuri industry to support Sanju baba. I have decided that the entire Bhojpuri industry will take a rally to the CM's office in baba's support."

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&se ctid=30&contentid=200708050448573289bdb16d1

It's sad priya told srk and suneil to stop