Sanjay Dutt: Freedom plea

Mumbai, Jan. 15: The city’s Good Samaritans have vouched for Munnabhai’s good conduct.

A former sheriff, a social worker and a doctor who runs rehabilitation centres for drug addicts have filed affidavits along with veteran actor Dilip Kumar testifying to Sanjay’s conduct as the Lage Raho Munnabhai star formally moved an application seeking release on probation.

The star’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde filed the application before judge Pramod Kode under the Probation of Offender’s Act, 1958, requesting him to suspend the actor’s sentence for the convicted offence under the Arms Act and release him on the ground of good conduct.

Along with Sanjay’s application, the defence team attached affidavits filed by his neighbour Dilip Kumar, former sheriff Nana Chudasma, social worker Vipula Kadri and Dr Yusuf Merchant.

In his application, Sanjay — convicted in the March 1993 blasts case under the Arms Act — said since he has been acquitted of the main terrorism charges, his case should be treated in isolation. He also pointed out that the court held that the prosecution had failed to prove that the firearms in his possession were from the same consignment used in the blasts.

The application said his father, the late actor and MP Sunil Dutt, had faced the wrath of fundamentalists when he tried to help Muslims from his constituency during the 1992-93 riots, and had sought police protection on January 6, 1993, after the family received threat calls. It further said that both his father and mother, the late actress Nargis, were involved in social work.

Sanjay also told the court that he has been on bail for the last 11 years and has never abused his liberty.

Kumar, a close friend of the Dutts, said the family “feared an attack” on their house during the 1992-93 riots for helping the victims. He also said how Sanjay took to drugs unable to cope with his mother’s death.

Kadri, who runs an NGO, informed the court about Sunil Dutt and Sanjay’s fund-raising efforts for the victims of the Gujarat quake. Chudasma said how Sanjay has been helping the Cancer Patients Aids Association. Merchant told the court about Sanjay’s counselling classes for drug addicts.