Sanjay Dutt on Thursday surrendered before the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (Tada) court, following which he may be sent to Yerawada prison in Pune to serve the rest of his five year sentence. Four others, who were convicted in the 1993 blasts case, also gave themselves up before the court. The defence in the case will soon file a curative petition in the Supreme Court.
Amid heavy police cover, Dutt reached prison around 3 pm accompanied his wife Manyata and sister and Congress MP Priya Dutt. Dressed in a white kurta and blue jeans, Dutt looked sullen with bloodshot and teary eyes. He was sitting in the back of the courtroom nodding his head in despair during the proceedings. Five others, including Abdul Memon, Altaf Sayyed, Yusuf Nallwala and Kesari Adjania, were the other accused who surrendered.
Dutt moved an application before the court, through his lawyer Rizwan Merchant, requ-esting it to allow medicines to be supplied to Dutt. “My client suffers from stenosis where arteries swell and can burst if deprived of medication. The court should accept this request since even the SC has recognised that prisoners have rights. Deprivation of a particular right should not be a part of the sentence. The imprisonment should be rigorous, not harsh,” Mr Merchant argued. The court accepted the request.
The defence also requested the court to smoke “e-cigarettes”. The court, however, denied permission and asked Sanjay Dutt to quit smoking. “Sanjay is a chain smoker due to which his cholesterol and triglyceride levels are high. The e-cigarettes have 15 per cent less nicotine and should be considered as medicinal,” his counsel pleaded. However, judge A. Sanap asked Dutt to quit smoking. “Drop this habit,” said Mr Sanap.