July 31, 2007...3:07 pm
Sanjay Dutt………
Sanjay dutt is back in jail after he was sentenced to six years’ rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. He had commited a crime and nobody is above law.
All that sounds fine, but the question is why do we send people to jail?
The answer is, so that they can be reformed.
Sanjay Dutt has already spend 16 months in jail and is a reformed man. His trials and turbulations in the last 14 years , plus the 16 months that he spent in jail were enough punishment I think.He was not a terrorist; he was guilty of buying illegal arms.
Justice Kode while delivering the sentence said-”I must say for every citizen, laws of the nation shall be respected. If you don’t, I don’t expect you to be called a moral person.”
Is that the truth Justice Kode? If Sunil Dutt wasn’t a law abiding citizen, he could have easily managed the whole case 14 years back like so many others have done. His son would be a free man. Most politicians get away with crime commited by them and their sons. This man had already suffered enough. I personally think the court was harsh on him……….
17 Comments
July 31, 2007 at 4:50 pm
[...] Sanjay Dutt aka Sanjoo Baba was sentenced for six years earlier today. Pr3rna’s article will provide you a better picture about it but we all know the history of the issue and the [...]
July 31, 2007 at 4:51 pm
I hope there is a legal way that his lawyers can bail him out from the jail for a longer period and he does not faces any improsenment at all. is there?
July 31, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Ammar,
Sanjay Dutt’s lawyers will be appealing in the Supreme Court today. That is the only recourse he has.
July 31, 2007 at 11:53 pm
I don’t know anything about this man, but I don’t think jail, or any kind of sentence does have the “reforming” goal. To me, it is meant to punish and deter (which sounds fair, because how can you know if someone sincerely regrets). But in reality the law is just man-made words. This means you can get a life sentence because you suit the circumstances although you don’t deserve it, or get away with something simply because of the order of the words in the law, or anything else.
I don’t think you can expect the law or “justice” to be just. The law is the way it is, and if a judge is empowered to free a guilty man or sentence an innocent, it is his right. Fortunately, trials try to be as fair as possible in most cases. But then, the law is the law.
August 1, 2007 at 12:39 am
In the civilised world, even Presidents and Prime Ministers have gone to jail for crimes far less deadly than Dutt’s. In the principles of justice, the concept of retributory justice is important to the victims and the society. In this specific odd case, you may say that what he did back then and what he is now are unrelated. But that is only an assertion, and has no impact in purely legal terms.
August 1, 2007 at 5:22 am
I think this case brings into focus the urgent need to reform the legal and judicial system in India so that justice can be served faster than in 14 years. I’m not aware of all the details in this case, but was some of the delay due to investigation and evidence collection? Also, this kind of delayed justice happens to so many Indians everyday - chalo, at least people start realizing this when it happens to Sanjay Dutt. It’s a start.
August 1, 2007 at 6:24 am
Sanjay Dutt is my favorite bollywood star, so when i read that he was sentenced to 6 years in jail because he was proven guilty of possesing illegal weapon, that made me sad. 6 years sentence is a bit too much, perhaps the judge wanted to set an example because I don’t think that a common man would be sentence to this much time.
I read somewhere that Salman Khan killed a man in a road accident, he is still out and planning his wedding, plus according to entertaintment news, Fardeen Khan was also arrested for possesing drugs in large quantity… You’re right Prerna, it’s all about power, people who go for the right legal way, well they do face lots of hurdles..
Anyways, hopefully this is not the end and more hopefully that in near future we will hear good news regarding Munna Bhai…
August 1, 2007 at 7:12 am
Rajiv,
Sanjay Dutt is a very popular Indian actor. Both his parents were popular actors too. Besides that they were social workers. His father was a minister and could have used his position to hide his son’s crime but his chose the legal way.After serving 16 months in jail and 14 years of legal wrangles Sanjay is a reformed man and everybody believes that.
Sanjay Dutt was guilty of buying AK-47’s illegally from his underworld connections. He has confessed it.
My point was that the judgement was harsh. He could have been given a lesser sentence because of his conduct.
Lubz,
Salman khan mowed more than one people in a drunken driven case.The other case against him is that of hunting blackbucks which are a protected species. Hunting is illegal in India. Fardeen khan was arrested for buying cocaine and not for possesing arms.
Let us see what happens in Supreme court. At the moment Munna bhai is in jail.
You are right Amit, legal reforms are overdue. The positive side is that finally, trials are over in the 1993 bomb blasts case.
August 1, 2007 at 7:15 am
Thanks@ Ramadoc, for your views. I have no reason to contradict your views.
August 1, 2007 at 7:53 am
“16 months in jail and is a reformed man”
How do we ensure this?
August 1, 2007 at 8:07 am
@ bachodi,
there is no way of ascertaining that other than his general behaviour. We have seen him promoting social causes, accepting his mistakes. Trying to reform drug addicts by sharing his own experiences, and whatever media is projecting.
August 1, 2007 at 8:47 am
What about these ?
1) Sanjay Dutt was present at a dinner party attended by fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
2 ) Sanjay Dutt had committed a series of offences and that he was mature when he committed these offences.
3 ) Dutt had made co-accused Yusuf Nalwala commit an offence as well.
These are something very dangerous., A person can still do something for social causes and show better general behavior – but that does not mean he is not allied with antinational elements right ? .
August 1, 2007 at 9:06 am
Whatever you have said is absolutely right and Sanjay Dutt has confessed it too. All this happened before he was sent to jail first time. He has changed after that. This is the general impression and I also think he has changed. He is guilty of all what you said but still, there are bigger criminals than him who are roaming free because they have the right political connevctions.6 years is a little harsh, I still think.
August 1, 2007 at 10:38 am
@Bachodi: Not just Sanjay Dutt, but most others as well.
I know of people who have seen Salman sitting at Chhota Rajan’s feet outside a disco in Dubai.
August 1, 2007 at 11:24 am
@ bachodi and@ ramadoc,
what is your take on Monica Bedi who was extradited from Portugal after a long battle and loads of taxpayers money wasted? She is a free woman now, although she was married to Abu Salem and was arrested in Portugal for the fake passport case. Abu Salem is ready to fight election from Azamgarh. He has lots of following there.
Anu Malik sang songs in praise of Dawood Ibrahim on his son’s Birthday “Sab ka bhai Dawood bhai”, we all saw the video’s on the channel infamous for it’s sting operations “India TV’.This is why I have sympathies for Sanjay Dutt why he alone? He has to go to jail for 6 years because he had an honest father.
August 3, 2007 at 10:06 am
If for nothing else Anu Mallik should go to jail for stealing so many songs over his entire career!
Mollica Bedi was found not guilty of passport fraud. Big deal, she doesn’t interest me. Dawood and Memon do….
August 3, 2007 at 10:19 pm
But in the end he got 6 years or so for soemthing he did do. Somehow he did deserve it, although he might have repented.
Whats bad is when real criminals get away with things or innocents get long sentences..
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