Sanjay Dutt's bail hopes rest on SC

MUMBAI: The only legal road ahead for Sanjay Dutt is to approach the Supreme Court. The actor will have to file an appeal against the conviction and sentencing and seek bail as soon as possible.

And approaching the apex court, and setting the ball rolling for the bail, could start as early as Wednesday as Dutt's legal team has a copy of the operative part of the sentencing order.

All appeals against orders passed by a Tada court lie only in the apex court and this is where the battle will now be fought for Dutt's release.

Such appeals are usually mentioned before the Chief Justice of India and he, depending on the urgency of the matter, decides the next date of the actual hearing of the plea for interim orders. But this could take anything between a day and weeks as it will have to wait for the court's convenience.

But, on the flip side, the Central Bureau of Investigation can also approach the Supreme Court to appeal and seek enhancement of Dutt's prison term or even against his acquittal under Tada.

Petitions can also be filed by any of the blast victims against the sentence handed out to Dutt. But criminal expert Nitin Pradhan said an appeal by an NGO might not be entertained; only the state, the accused and the affected persons and witnesses could be parties to the case.

"The apex court does not interfere on facts but looks into whether those facts have been appreciated or interpreted properly by the judge," said police officer-turned-advocate Y P Singh.

It could even order a retrial given the fact that Abu Salem's statements were not taken into account. Dutt's is a borderline case as the other accused who helped the actor were convicted under Tada," Singh added on Tuesday.

"You must be prepared to face the consequences if you have committed an offence," criminal lawyer Adik Shirodkar said.

In Dutt's case, Shirodkar said, there was a hypothetical possibility for enhancing the sentence. But he was equally quick to pint out that the reverse might also happen. "There is also a chance that the apex court may acquit him." But enhancement of term was not a likely option, Pradhan said.

"It's mere speculation," he added. Pradhan has represented and argued for 22 accused in the case, including the bomb planters.

"Once he was acquitted of charges under TADA, what remained was the relatively minor offence under the Arms Act of possessing a weapon in a notified area," Pradhan explained.

"The prosecution could not even prove during the trial whether the AK-56 was part of the arms consignment that landed on the Konkan coast before the blasts. Dutt did not have any intention of being nor was part of terrorist conspiracy," he added.