SC grants interim bail to Sanjay Dutt

Fans of Sanjay Dutt had reasons to celebrate on Monday when the actor, along with five other accused in the Mumbai serial blasts case, was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court.

Fans of Sanjay Dutt had reasons to celebrate on Monday when the actor, along with five other accused in the Mumbai serial blasts case, was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court. However, the party is not likely to last long as the actor will have to surrender the day he receives the copy of the TADA court judgment, expected on August 27.

In other words Dutt, at present lodged in Pune8217;s Yerawada Jail, will be out on bail for just a week after which his legal team will have to prepare a watertight case while applying for regular bail for the actor.

While the much-awaited decision of the Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan came quickly enough, the actor would still have to spend the night in prison before he can come out to enjoy his brief free stint. According to his legal team, Dutt will reach his home in Mumbai only on Tuesday.

Like Dutt, other appellants including Zaibunnisa Anwar Kazi, Sameer Hingora, Aziz Ahmed Mohammad Ahmed Sheikh, Ibrahim Musa Chauhan alias Baba Chauhan and Yusuf Mohsin Nulwalla were also granted interim bail.

Earlier, the Bench acceded to the plea that since the convicts had not been provided with the certified copy of the judgment, they could be released on interim bail. 8220;We can8217;t consider bail at this stage without the copy of judgment but those who were on bail at the time of sentencing will remain on bail and those who were in custody will remain in custody,8221; it summed up. The pleas were not opposed by the CBI. Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramanium, appearing for CBI, submitted that even the agency did not have the copy of the judgment to deal with the case in hand. But he maintained that the overall gamut of the case had to be considered as he sought to classify the convicts in three categories on the basis of role played by each of them in the blasts. At the same time, he maintained that the agency was not favouring any particular convict.

While imposing certain conditions on Dutt for the period he would be out on bail, the Bench also comprising Justices R V Raveendran and C K Thakker considered that he was on bail from October 16, 1995, till July 31, 2007, the day Judge P D Kode sentenced him to six-year RI.

The actor, whose passport remains with the trial court will not be allowed to leave the country without the court8217;s permission and will have to report to the CBI authorities in Mumbai once a week.