In a climax to the two-decade-long real life drama that saw several ups and downs in his film career and on his domestic front, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on Thursday surrendered before a designated TADA court here to serve the remaining 42 months’ jail term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.
On a day when the paparazzi chased him in his Innova car from his Bandra residence in north-west Mumbai to the designated TADA court at Fort in south Mumbai, the 53-year-old actor jostled his way through a crowd of mediapersons inside the courtroom where he surrendered before Judge GA Sanap at around 3 pm.
After completing the formalities inside the court — a process that took six-long hours, Sanjay was taken to the Arthur Road Jail at Byaculla in south Mumbai at around 9 pm. After night’s stay at the Arthur Road Jail, which is basically a prison meant for undertrials, the actor will in all likelihood be shifted to Pune’s Yerwada prison where he had been lodged in the past.
Dressed in a spotless white kurta, blue denims and sporting red tikka on his forehead, Sanjay — accompanied by his wife Maanyata, sisters Priya, Namrata, brothers-in-law Owan Roncon, Kumar Gaurav and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt — drove down from his Imperial Heights residence at Bandra to the City Civil and Sessions Court at Kala Ghoda, which also houses the designated TADA court.
As if the nightmarish experience that he suffered at the hands of the paparazzi during his 22-km journey from his Bandra residence to the TADA court was not enough, cameramen and photographers besieged his car on its arrival near the court at around 2.30 pm.
After two failed attempts to enter the courtroom through an unmanageable crowd of cameramen and photographers and 20 minutes’ wait inside his vehicle, Sanjay came out of his car and pleaded with mediapersons present to step back and allow him to get inside the courtroom. “I request you to maintain clam, step back and allow me to go. I want to surrender,” he told the mediapersons with folded hands.
Upon entering the court room, Sanjay bowed down before Additional Sessions Judge GA Sanap. The surrender formalities began soon afterwards.
The Judge asked the actor his name, to which the actor replied: “Sanjay Sunil Dutt”.
As the court took Sanjay into custody after completing the formalities of surrender, the actor was visibly shaken and appeared to be nervous. He looked stressed and was on verge of tears when his lawyer Rizwan Merchant told the court that his client was besieged by a mob outside and it took him quite a lot of time to enter the courtroom.
The Judge then asked Sanjay as to the quantum of punishment he had undergone by him so far. Swift came the reply from Sanjay, who said: “551 days in jail, Sir”.
The Judge then asked Sanjay to take a seat in the dock located in the back row of the room.
Sanjay’s lawyer Rizwan Merchant urged the court to grant certain facilities to the actor such as fan, medicines, a thin mattress, pillow, home food, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Hanuman Chalisa and an electronic cigarette.
Rizwan informed the court that the actor was a chain-smoker and wanted to use the electronic cigarette for de-addiction.
The Judge told Sanjay that he was allowing all the requests made by him except carrying electronic cigarette with him to jail.
The Judge advised the actor to quit smoking. “Please give up smoking right away. It is not good for your health,” the judge told Sanjay.
Merchant also urged the court that Sanjay’s family members be allowed to visit him in the jail regularly.
He also appealed to the court that the actor may not be asked to perform harsh jobs in the prison.
After finishing the surrender formalities, Sanjay was handed his conviction slip. later, the court prepared a warrant with details about the jail where he will be lodged.
He underwent fingerprinting, given a copy of the warrant, a remission sheet, list of property belonging to him and a list of duties, bedding, etc.
Sanjay’s surrender before the TADA court to serve the remaining jail term of three and half years in the 1993 serial blasts case marked the end of another phase in his eventful life in which he has several ups and downs — right from the days of substance abuse, arrest in the serial blasts case, rocky marriages, break-ups — and so on. The actor is the son of star-couple late Sunil Dutt and late Nargis Dutt.
Sanjubaba, as he was popularly known in Bollywood when he was arrested for the first time on his arrival from Mauritius on April 19, 1993 for possessing prohibited Kalashnikov assault rifle and 9 mm pistol, was convicted under the Arms Act in 2006.