Mumbai: The Special Tada court in Mumbai on Monday reserved its judgement on Sanjay Dutt's petition under the Probation of Offenders Act (POA), 1958.
The Bollywood actor, convicted for possessing illegal weapons in connection with the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, had filed an application under the Act 1958, under which a person convicted of any offence other than the one punishable with death or life imprisonment can be released on probation instead of serving the sentence in prison.
The hearing on 67 applications pleading for relief under the Probation of Offenders Act will now come up on March 12.
The court had earlier admitted Dutt's plea seeking relief under POA. But, Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had opposed the plea, saying that the court has to get a report from probation officer before deciding his plea on the ground that it was premature.
Nikam had argued that he could not be granted leniency for him being a "youthful" offender, when the crime was committed. He said the POA was meant for young and immature offenders.
Nikam had said that Dutt, who was 34 years old in 1993, when he accepted an AK-56 rifle and a Chinese 9mm pistol from Samir Hingora, was "mature and adult". He contended that Dutt could then distinguish between a hunting rifle and an AK-56, "a weapon of mass destruction".
Dutt's lawyer Satish Maneshinde had asked the court to appoint a probation officer and call for a report on Sanjay's behaviour.
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