New Delhi, Oct. 25: Sanjay Dutt today filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking suspension of his six-year jail term and release on bail.

The actor, who surrendered before the anti-terror court in Mumbai on Monday, is now in Pune’s Yerwada jail.

The apex court had released him on interim bail on August 20 till the trial court gave him a copy of the judgment convicting him. He got the copy on Monday and turned himself in.

Dutt, charged under the arms act for possessing illegal weapons, challenged his conviction on several grounds. He argued that no arms were ever found either on him or in his house and that his “alleged” confession was not voluntary and had been obtained under coercion.

The actor had allegedly confessed to having procured arms to protect himself and his family during the Mumbai riots. “The alleged confession given by the petitioner was not voluntary and is a procured document by the police,” his petition said. “Continued police custody was itself a coercion and compulsion.”

The petition, filed by advocates Karan Singh and K. Hari Shankar, claimed that the confession was inadmissible as evidence as the actor had later retracted it. It added that the “confession” might have been fabricated by the investigating team.

Dutt said he “deserves” to be acquitted as the evidence is “insufficient to sustain a conviction”.

The actor then moved on to his second stage of argument in line with legal procedure. During any appeal, an accused has to first try and prove that he has not committed the offence, and then argue that even if he is guilty, there are loopholes in the charge.

Dutt sought to be released on probation as he was a “first-time offender”, “no one was hurt” by his actions and he had committed the act under “extraordinary circumstances” — a reference to the riots.

Till the apex court decides on his appeal, the actor sought to be freed on bail on any condition that the court might decide to impose.