The special TADA court in Mumbai has held Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt guilty under the Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons while clearing him of any criminal conspiracy in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.
It has not been decided yet whether he would be put in police custody immediately or he would be served a notice first before being taken into custody.
The minimum sentence for the charges under which Dutt has been found guilty is three years. The 18 months that Sanjay Dutt has already served in jail will be deducted from the sentence he is likely to be given.
TADA court judge Pramod Kode has not sentenced any of the convicts in the blasts case as yet.
Dutt will now be in jail until the sentence is pronounced. The court of appeal for TADA courts is Supreme Court. Appeals can be made within a period of 28 days.
Legal experts say Dutt’s lawyers will try and move the high court, saying he has been convicted not under TADA, but the Arms Act.
Dutt will continue to serve his sentence until his appeal comes up for hearing.
If the court finds sufficient grounds for letting the actor free, he may get interim bail. Dutt may then be free.
But until a higher court delivers its final verdict, he will be required to spend some more time in jail.
Dutt can approach a higher court as soon as tomorrow as there are no other legalities involved in the process.
TADA court judge Pramod Kode has not sentenced any of the convicts in the blasts case as yet.
Dutt, who is accused number 117 in the serial blasts case, was convicted for keeping three AK-56 rifles, its ammunition, a 9 mm pistol, its cartridges and hand grenades in a notified area.
All these weapons were part of a consignment smuggled in by Tiger Memon to set off a series of blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993.