Monday, April 8, 2013

Sanjay Dutt to file review petition in Supreme Court

Actor Sanjay Dutt is all set to move the Supreme Court (SC) by way of a review petition against its March 21 judgement upholding his conviction under the Arms Act and for having imposed a five-year sentence on him.

A legal team based in Delhi has prepared the petition which may be filed in a day or two before the same bench. The SC had not interfered with the Tada court's guilty verdict against Dutt for possession of arms before the March 12, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. He was held guilty only under the Arms Act for having an AK-56, an automatic rifle in a notified area, but acquitted under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, which had also been invoked against him.

His contention in the SC was and is that a confession made under Tada cannot form main evidence for offences under other Acts against an accused, when the accused is acquitted under Tada. The three-judge bench judgment in the Rajiv Gandhi killer case, which held that a confession under Tada would be valid even elsewhere and which the SC had relied on in the 1993 blasts case against Dutt, must be reconsidered, will be his contention in the review.

The petition can be filed to review a binding decision of the SC based on an apparent error in a judgment sought to be reviewed. A strong case has to be made to get a review, but if the plea is dismissed, a curative petition can be filed to ensure that there is no gross miscarriage of justice.

A review petition has to be filed within 30 days of the date of judgement or order.

Meanwhile, a film under the Sanjay Dutt Productions banner will go on the floor on April 12, a week before his month-long deadline to surrender ends.

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