TADA court summons Dutt on Oct 18

Mumbai: The designated TADA court hearing the 1993 Mumbai blasts case has summoned actor Sanjay Dutt to appear before it on Wednesday.

Dutt, who is accused No. 117 in the case, has been asked to appear in the court with 25 other accused.

The order was passed by designated TADA court judge P D Kode, who asked the accused to appear for attendance.

The court, which is in the midst of giving verdict in the 13-year-old case, has exempted some accused from personal appearance and asked them to appear as and when they are summoned

Industry sources say Rs 100 crore had been invested in movies signed up by Dutt, whose stock had skyrocketed after the runaway success of his latest movie Lage Raho Munnabhai.

Some of his upcoming films include Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya, Apoorva Lakhiya’s Shootout and his home-production Beehad.

"An adverse court verdict will definitely affect the industry financially," sources said.

Although the judge has exempted Dutt from personal appearance during court hearings to allow him to fulfill professional commitments, it will be tension-filled days for the actor till a verdict is delivered in his case.

Arrested at the time when his acting career was on an upswing, Sanjay was arrested on charge of possessing AK-47 rifle that had come in consignment meant for the serial bomb blasts.

Sanjay, the only son of yesteryears' noted actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis, spent more than 18 months in jail in 1993, even as he suffered a great deal in both his personal and professional life.

Sanjay was shooting for Khalnayak movie in Mauritius when he was summoned by police to Mumbai and subsequently arrested on arrival at Sahar airport. With the movie becoming a great hit, the tag of Khalnayak (villain) seemed to have stuck to Sanjay for the years to come.

The actor reportedly telephoned the then Mumbai police chief, Amarjeet Samra, soon after his named cropped up during probe into the blasts, claiming that he had no role in the blasts. The top police official asked Sanjay to appear before police and clarify his stand.

After Sanjay was arrested on arrival at Sahar Airport, he was taken to Mumbai crime branch office where he was grilled for over six hours by the then DCP, Rakesh Maria.

Dutt, who maintained that he was innocent, broke down after he was confronted with the statements of Sameer Hingora and Hanif Kadawala regarding his alleged role in procuring the AK-47 weapon, sources said.