Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao has rejected a plea for pardon for the Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. Thus, he will continue to serve the remainder of his sentence at a Pune jail, official sources said here on Thursday (24 September 2015).
Also see: Is Sanjay Dutt entitled to Right of Private Defence?
It is learnt that a petition had been moved by former judge of the Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju seeking pardon for Sanjay Dutt, which has now been rejected on the recommendation of the Maharashtra state home department. Home department is learnt to have said it would set a bad precedent as the actor’s conviction was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
It is noteworthy that Sanjay Dutt’s conviction had been confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2013 in the case of acquiring illegal weapons from those involved in the 1993 bomb blast cases in Mumbai in which 257 people were killed, and a large number of people were injured. While Sanjay Dutt had been cleared of conspiracy charges in the Mumbai attacks, he was found guilty of illegal possession of an AK-56 rifle and a pistol, which he had claimed that he required to protect himself and his family during the riots that erupted in Mumbai.
Already grant of frequent and prolonged parole granted to Sanjay Dutt has been a matter of controversy. Even at present, he is out of jail on parole for his daughter’s nose surgery. Grant of pardon to him at this stage would have further confirmed that law is not equal for all and that some people get VIP treatment exposing the myth of right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution. It is pertinent to note that Sanjay is likely to be released in February 2016 on completion of his jail term.
