|
Bollywood star seeks bail again
26/10/2007 09:44 - (SA)
New Delhi - Bollywood actor Sanjay
Dutt, jailed for six years for getting guns from gangsters
involved in India's worst bombing, challenged his conviction in
the Supreme Court on Thursday and sought bail.
The actor was convicted for taking an AK-56 rifle and a
pistol from gangsters linked to the bombings in which 257
people were killed in the financial capital, Mumbai, in 1993.
Dutt's appeal said his conviction by a special
anti-terrorism court was based on a confession he later
retracted. It said the confession was obtained under duress.
"For a confession to be accepted, it must be voluntary and
free from any kind of pressure and coercion," Dutt's petition
said.
The petition, which said the actor should be given bail
because there was no chance of him fleeing, also urged that he
be released on probation because he was a first-time offender
whose actions had not harmed anyone.
Challenge judgment
A special Mumbai court sentenced Dutt in August. But he got
bail from the Supreme Court after spending 24 days in jail
until he was served a copy of the judgment so he could
challenge it in the country's highest court.
Dutt, 48, was handed a copy of the more than 4 300-page
judgement on Monday, after which he surrendered and was sent
back to prison in the western Indian city of Pune.
The actor is now seeking to stay out of jail while the
Supreme Court hears his petition challenging the verdict. An
appeal in the court could take years to be heard.
Even the bail petition could take days to come up, but in
India celebrity cases are sometimes expedited.
Dutt has said he acquired the weapons to protect his family
during communal riots in 1993.
- Reuters
|
South Africa
