Mumbai:
Actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the 1993 Bombay blasts case, will surrender before a special TADA court in Mumbai today to undergo the remaining 42 months jail term. The actor has already served 18 months in jail in connection with the case.
Mr Dutt had told the court on Tuesday that he was facing threat to his life from fundamentalist groups and should be allowed to surrender at the Yerwada Jail directly, but withdrew his plea on Wednesday without citing any reason.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday had refused to grant the actor additional time to surrender for undergoing the remaining jail term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by a film producer, who sought time for Mr Dutt to complete his under-production films.
On May 10, the Supreme Court had dismissed Mr Dutt's plea seeking review of its judgement on his conviction and five-year jail term. The 53-year-old actor was earlier granted four more weeks to surrender to undergo the remaining jail term.
The Supreme Court, on March 21, had upheld his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, which it said was engineered by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and others with the involvement of Pakistan's ISI.
However, the court had reduced to five years the six-year jail term awarded to Mr Dutt by a designated TADA court in 2006 while ruling out his release on probation, saying the "nature" of his offence was "serious".
Mr Dutt was convicted by the TADA court for illegally possessing a 9 mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle that were part of a consignment of weapons and explosives brought to India for coordinated serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured over 700 in 1993.