Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Sanjay Dutt was granted bail for 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case

There is good news for Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt . The Supreme Court today granted him bail in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan gave reprieve to Dutt and 17 others convicted in the case.

Dutt’s petition said the actor should be given bail because there was no chance of him fleeing the country and also urged that he be released on probation because he was a first-time offender.

Sanjay Dutt has been lodged behind bars in a Pune jail for over a month since receiving a copy of his judgment from TADA court that had in August sentenced the actor to six years of imprisonment for taking guns from gangsters involved in the Mumbai bombings in which 257 people were killed.

48-year-old Dutt was granted bail after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not oppose the bail plea.

While CBI has been harsh on people linked directly to the serial bomb blasts, it has shown some leniency towards those who were only peripherally linked to it, like Dutt.

Expressing relief over the court's order, the actor's sister and Congress MP Priya Dutt told reporters in Mumbai: "We are happy that he would come here soon. We hope for a better tomorrow and want to thank all who have supported us to overcome the situation."

However, Sanjay Dutt would be released from Yerawada jail only after the jail authorities receive the court order, which would be routed through the special TADA court in Mumbai.

The order might reach Yerwada jail on Wednesday evening, meaning Dutt would have to spend one more day in jail.

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