Mumbai: Sanjay Dutt is not moving the high court immediately to appeal against the TADA court verdict. On Thursday, his lawyers will appeal in the TADA court itself, asking for his sentence to be mitigated.
Dutt was absolved of conspiracy in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, but convicted under the Arms Act for possessing illegal weapons in a notified area.
While the court on Tuesday granted him an interim relief till December 19, he faces a tough legal battle ahead to avoid going to jail on December 19.
The court is likely to pronounce the quantum of sentence for him by then. If the sentence is not announced by December 19, Dutt's lawyers will apply for a further extension of bail.
Dutt faces three to five years imprisonment under the Arms Act. And since he has already served jail term for about 18 months, the actual sentence could now mean a few months imprisonment. If the court announces a sentence of less than the 18 months, Dutt will walk out a free man.
But if the sentence is of more than 18 months then Dutt's lawyers will consider an appeal in a higher court. The higher court may grant him bail, in which case Dutt will remain free until the higher court delivers the final verdict.
Technically, Dutt's lawyers have the option of approaching either the Bombay High Court or the Supreme Court against the verdict. The Dutt family had indicated on Tuesday that they will prefer moving the High Court first as the conviction is under the Arms Act and not under TADA. The Supreme Court is the sole appellate authority in a TADA case.
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