Sanjay Dutt Seeks Six More Months To Surrender

 Invoking "humanitarian" grounds, actor Sanjay Dutt moved the Supreme Court on Monday seeking six more months to surrender so that he can complete his film projects. The court had on March 21 granted the actor four weeks time to surrender to serve his remaining three-and-a-half-year jail term for illegally possessing arms in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

In his plea, Dutt claimed that producers had invested around Rs 278 crore in his ongoing film projects, and he needed at least 196 days to complete these.

"This court may extend the time to surrender in terms of order dated March 21, 2013, by a period of six months upon an undertaking of the petitioner to surrender on expiry of the extended period and upon such terms and conditions as this court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case," said the application, which is likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday.

Dutt made it clear that the plea was "based entirely on humanitarian ground" as it seeks to invoke extraordinary jurisdiction of the apex court under Article 142 of the Constitution. "Unless the prayer of the petitioner is granted, he and others would suffer serious loss and prejudice and livelihood of several families would be affected," said the application.

The actor also highlighted his contribution to society, saying he donated crores of rupees to the Prime Minister's welfare fund and worked towards rehabilitation of tsunami victims.

On the question of filing a review petition against the SC verdict, Dutt contended that he was still soliciting legal advice on the issue.

Meanwhile, three other convicts in the blasts case — Zaibunisha Anwar Kazi, Issaq Mohd Hajwane and Shariff Abdul Gafoor Parker alias Dadabhai — have also moved the apex court for extension of time to surrender. They pleaded that the time limit fixed by the Supreme Court be extended till their clemency plea is decided by the President.

Former Supreme Court judge and Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju had made representations to the President on the trio's behalf.

The apex court had upheld the TADA court's verdict for five-year jail term to Kazi, who is 70 and suffers from cancer. Hajwane, 76, was sentenced to life imprisonment after the court enhanced his five-year jail term, whereas the life term to Parker, 88, was maintained.

In their writ petitions, mentioned before the court by senior advocate Fali S Nariman, they have pleaded that they should not be asked to surrender till the representation made by Katju on their behalf is decided by the President. Their petitions will also be taken up for hearing tomorrow.

"Since the procedure established by law under Article 21 of the Constitution does not end with the final judgment of the highest court but also extends into the domain of exercise of presidential power under Article 72 and since such power has been duly invoked, the order of this court be suspended until the decision by the President on the petition filed before him on March 28 and now pending," read the petitions.

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