After a lengthy judicial process spanning over a decade the special TADA court on Tuesday sentenced actor Sanjay Dutt to rigorous imprisonment for six years for illegal possession of weapons that were given to him by associates of gangster Dawood Ibrahim ahead of the 1993 serial blasts. The popular Hindi film actor had also spent 16 months in prison after his arrest in April 1993 and was out on bail under the watchful eye of the court. While many would have expected the court to bow down to the leniency plea put forward by the actor, however the court would have none of it. The case made out for Dutt was that he was not only a revered actor but also a fine human being who had made amends for his brush with the criminal world in the past. The verdict as such will come as a big blow for well wishers, friends and family members. The special TADA court would have also been under tremendous pressure given the high profile nature of the case and it has done well to come out with a non-populist verdict basing on evidence not emotion.
While punishing a person like Dutt with rigorous imprisonment seems harsh, the judiciary in his case has also held on firmly to its ideals of justice and fair-play. The law of the land is above any individual no matter how powerful or weak, rich or poor that person may be. No one is above the law. The law treats everyone equally and the verdict spelled out in the case of Dutt has to be respected and honored. Even the political parties, especially the Congress and BJP should avoid politicizing the case and must restrain from making uncalled-for remarks. Given that both Sunil Dutt and now his daughter (Sanjay Dutt’s sister) Priyanka Dutt were/are Congress MPs, there is concern that the case may get muddled in political deep waters, which is clearly avoidable as this juncture.
Due credit should also go to the Dutt family for their humility and putting up a brave front in the face of such adversity. An appeal before the Supreme Court is available and Dutt has every right to seek justice in the highest court of the land. The law should be allowed to take its own course and no one knows this better than Dutt himself who has more than once publicly stated about his faith in the Indian judiciary. As a person coming from a family known for their deep sense of patriotism and love for the country, Dutt himself will know that there is a price to be paid even if it meant committing a wrong out of no ill motive but plain stupidity. While many of his well wishers would like to assume that the actor has been punished enough already for his misdeed in the past, the law cannot discriminate. And for everyone both supporters and detractors, it should be left to the wisdom of the Supreme Court to decide on the degree of penalty, which even the ‘Deadly Dutt’ will certainly have to serve for his past action.
