Sanjay Dutt's legal eagles weigh all options

IN DEFENCE OF DUTT: No stone will be left unturned in Sanjay Dutt's case, says his lawyer Satish Maneshinde.

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New Delhi: Actor Sanjay Dutt on Tuesday was sentenced to jail for six years. So, is it the end of the road for Dutt or is there still some hope?

In true Munnabhai style Dutt gave a last salute to the crowds before going inside the court to face justice. The actor may have been hoping for a milder sentence but now that he faces a six-year term, the only hope for Dutt is the Supreme Court because TADA court appeals cannot be made before high courts.

But the timing of the appeal will depend on how early Dutt's lawyers get a copy of the judgment. Without a copy legal grounds are difficult to establish but efforts are on to get hold of the operative portion of the judgment so that at least a bail petition for Dutt can be filed.

“No stone will be left unturned to see that the legal defence for Sanjay Dutt is met to its utmost sincerity,” Dutt's lawyer, Satish Maneshinde said.

In one swift move special TADA court judge PD Kode has not only sentenced Dutt to six years in prison but also cancelled his bail confining him to barrack number 10 in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail.

On August 2 it will be decided in which central jail Dutt will be lodged to serve his sentence. Meanwhile, lawyers say the going for Dutt will be tough.

“I do not think Sanjay Dutt has any chance of getting out,” former IPS officer and lawyer Y P Singh said.

But some legal experts say the TADA court has been unduly harsh on Dutt as he has been discharged under TADA and convicted under the Arms Act, which has room for immediate appeal. And that’s the legal option that Dutt's battery of lawyers is likely to exercise.

“On one hand the judge has held that this is not a terrorist offence which I think is clearly contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court in 1994 in Sanjay Dutt’s case himself,” Supreme Court lawyer, KTS Tulsi said.

Even as Dutt’s lawyers put on their thinking caps and work out the legal provision, for the time being at least Dutt will spend the next few days behind bars.