IANS/New Delhi


The Supreme Court will hear today Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt’s plea for six months’ time to surrender following his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case.
A bench headed by Justice P Sathasivam said yesterday the actor’s plea would be taken up by the bench which had heard the matter and pronounced the judgment.
Dutt’s plea challenging his conviction under the Arms Act by a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court was heard by Justices Sathasivam and B S Chauhan.
The court had pronounced its order on March 21. While upholding Dutt’s conviction under the Arms Act for possessing illegal arms, the court reduced his sentence from six to five years. The TADA court had sentenced him to undergo six years’ imprisonment.
Dutt has already completed one-and-half years in jail, thus he has to serve the remainder three-and-half years’ sentence.
In Mumbai, sources said Dutt, who was working in double shifts to wrap up his projects before surrendering himself, needs about a week’s time to finish the shooting of PK.
The sources said director Rajkumar Hirani had requested Aamir Khan to take time out from his schedule for Dhoom 3 and be part of the shoot with Dutt for PK. A few portions are yet to be shot with Dutt.
When contacted, Hirani said: “Yes, about eight days of shooting is left with Sanjay Dutt.”
PK also features Anushka Sharma and Sushant Singh Rajput.
Also yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected the plea of three other convicts that they be permitted not to surrender to serve the remainder of their sentences until their clemency petitions are decided by the president.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir while ruling on the plea of Zaibunnisa Anwar Kazi, Ishaq Mohamed and Sharif Abdul, said if such a request was allowed, the President’s Office will be flooded with clemency petitions.
Unimpressed by the plea of senior counsel Fali Nariman that a conviction brings an offence to an end but liberty is not taken away, the court said thousands of people are out on bail and when asked to surrender, they do so.
Earlier, Kazi, Mohamed and Abdul moved the court for suspension of their sentence until their mercy petitions are decided by the president. They cited ailments and the advanced age as reasons for relief.
Kazi,70, had that she was being treated for kidney cancer and her condition was so bad that she not only requires constant medical attention but also needs an attendant to take care of her. She has said she would not be able to survive in the conditions prevalent in jails.
In her plea, Kazi said a petition under Article 72 has been filed on her behalf before the president, seeking pardon.
Mohamed, 88, and Abdul, 76, have cited their advanced age as ground for relief.