Actually the Judge Kode mentioned that it was based on the actions of Sanjay's life that it proved and inherent disregard for law (criminal intent or criminality as he called it). As the day wore on, India seemed to go with the Justice system. A CNN-IBN poll result showed, 58% favored the judgement and 42% was against. Times of India put the number as 23% who believed the justice system had FAILED, conversely implying 67% had AGREED with the judgement

I think the judge made a mistake.

Most people in India do not want to rock the boat.

I'm sure we havent heard the last of this.

After all, Dutt was not indicted for shoplifting or drug abuse...or criminal "tendencies" in his psychological makeup...

he was convicted of possessing a weapon illegally.

Alright, I"m a huge Sanjay Dutt Fan (I'm even close personal friends with his daughter) - I definately was not expecting a six year sentence. All said and done, I don't think anyone, with the reasoning and evidence provided, has the right to question Judge Kode.

Vivek, I have to agree and disagree with your whole rant on how filmi lives are more stressful than the rest. In many aspects, filmi lives are VERY stressful - due to the massive attention and whatnot. BUT, I come on people - there are business tycoons who are 10 times more stressed than these movie guys. So dont' give me excuses.

HOWEVER, Sanjay Dutt I feel has had a very difficult life. Dating back to his addiction with Drugs, the unfortunate death of his first wife Richa Sharma who fatefully passed away at a very young age due to Brain Cancer (soon after she gave birth to baby Trishala mind you), leaving Sanjay to battle drugs, take care of his child who maintains a residence in a different country - all the while having hte pressure of carrying on the legacy of his parents. His mother passed away, now his father has passed away, his regrettable inclusion in the 93 Blasts scheme. You're telling me his life is ordinary? Please, let's not kid ourselves. Of course he shouldn't have possessed the AK, and he did pay his penalty in jail (1.5 years should be cut from the 6 year sentence since that much has already been served). But to see this kind of an end to the whole fiasco for a man who has spent the last 2 decades of his life facing tragedy upon tragedy. Because of this the guy has not even been able to enjoy the immortal success of Munna Bhai. It's all very sad. Yet, I do not question the verdict and subsequent sentencing.

But once again, I will stand by Sanjay Dutt. Do not tell me his life was as ordinary as yours or mine. Of course many people face difficult times - but for it to continue decade after decade, is uncalled for. I pray for him and I pray for his family.

Again, I know his daughter personally, and I know what their family is dealing with. It is a very tough time, and they must all be strong. My prayers are with them all.

Aakash

I think judge kode was WRONG. judges frequently are, and the reason what they do is called a judgement is that sometimes they err. or it'd be called a conclusion.

I think judge kode will be overturned on appeal.

here's wishing.

Three News reports on the Dutt verdict. CBI, which is like the Indian FBI has come out against a dutt bail. So far , Dutt has been tried and sentenced in a TADA court, which is like a millitary/ para millitary special court. This is the first time his sentence is being reviewed by India's Judiciary.

Report 1 :

CBI to oppose Dutt's bail plea 6 Aug, 2007, 1415 hrs IST, IANS

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday said it would oppose Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt's bail plea in the Supreme Court.

"We will oppose Sanjay Dutt's bail plea if his lawyers approach the Supreme Court for the same," said CBI director Vijay Shankar about the actor who is in a Pune jail after he was sentenced to six years in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Shankar also denied reports that the CBI was planning to rope in lawyer Ujjwal Nigam, who argued the prosecution case in the Mumbai special court, to challenge Dutt's bail plea.

"Though we haven't finalised any lawyer yet, we are not considering Nigam's services. We will follow the normal procedure," Shankar said.

Dutt's lawyers are likely to approach the apex court with bail petition later in the day.

Dutt, on whose shoulders rides about a billion rupees in investment from the Indian film industry, was sentenced to six years' rigorous imprisonment for being in possession of 'dangerous weapons' in the 1993 Mumbai bombings case last week.

He was also fined Rs.25, 000 by the special anti-terror TADA court, conducting the trial into the serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured many hundreds.

From the Economic Times: Looks like Congress Part is not confident enough of Dutt going free. Theyre hedging their bets.( Sibal is a jurist and Congress MP, former Attorney general of India and sorabjee is from the other side, the BJP, and also a former attorney general.)

Report 2 :

Sibal locks horns with Sorabjee over Dutt

Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, Aug. 6: Amid differences within the Congress leadership over the nature of support and solidarity with Sanjay Dutt, the Union minister Mr Kapil Sibal today locked horns with the former attorney general Mr Soli J Sorabjee for criticising his pitch in support for the beleaguered Bollywood star. Questioning Mr Sorabjee’s “sense of righteousness”, Mr Sibal said he was intrigued by his criticism. “I did not pass those comments as a Cabinet minister but as a member of the Congress and as Sanjay Dutt’s former lawyer and this would not have affected the case,” Mr Sibal told a Press conference. “I had just said that the Congress should stand by Dutt in this hour of crisis because of the long association his father had with the party and also because his sister is a sitting party MP,” he said. “I think it is unfair for the former attorney general to comment on this.” Reacting to Mr Sorabjee’s comment that the Sanjay Dutt case should not send a signal of “celebrity justice delivery system” because of his star status, Mr Sibal said this indicated that such people have no faith in the system and believe that justice could be influenced. Mr Sorabjee had reportedly said that Priya Dutt is an MP and “Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, Kapil Sibal speaking in his favour, no signal should go to the people that it is a celebrity justice delivery system.” Joining issue with Mr Sorabjee, Mr Sibal said “justice has to be done by the court” and cannot be influenced by support from certain actors or the Congress party. Expressing surprise that Mr Sorabjee had decided to speak out against the support the actor was getting, Mr Sibal said, “If he wanted to take up such issues why did he not speak out during the Ayodhya case”. Questioning Mr Sorabjee’s “silence” during the Babri Masjid demolition trials, he said, “It was his government that was prosecuting the BJP leaders and he was the attorney general. I wish his inner voice had come out then”. Mr Sibal’s urgings for standing by Sanjay Dutt, however, did not impress the Congress to come out with an expression of open support for him.

Meanwhile Legal experts are divided:

Report 3:

Legal experts against Dutt-campaign 6 Aug, 2007, 0440 hrs IST, TNN

NEW DELHI: Even as a section of Bollywood and the ruling Congress stepped up their campaign to secure an early release for incarcerated film actor Sanjay Dutt on the ground that he had been dealt with in a rather harsh manner, the legal community stepped in on Sunday by sounding a note of caution against the entire exercise.

Former attorney general Soli Sorabjee on Sunday came out in support of the sentence awarded to the popular film star, while Mr Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, described the campaign as “unfair” and one which was aimed at subverting the country’s judicial system. He warned that the campaign launched against the sentence could come under the ambit of “contempt of courts”.

“Because Sanjay is a popular star, a very important personality, his sister (Priya Dutt) is an MP and Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Kapil Sibal are speaking in his favour, no signal should go to the people that it is a celebrity justice delivery system,’’ Mr Sorabjee said during the course of an interview to a news channel.

The eminent jurist viewed as “inappropriate” the Union I&B minister’s assertion questioning the correctness of the judgement, and justified the punishment awarded to the actor arguing that “he didn’t have a toy gun, he didn’t have an airgun, this is a serious offence...”

He also felt that all the hoopla and the media hype in support of the campaign could backfire, even though there were good grounds for the Supreme Court to grant expeditious bail. “The media hype could be counter-productive,” he said.

“It’s not in favour of Sanjay, his friends are not doing him any good. People are getting put off by this. Why all this in case of one person, what about others who are rotting in jails?” the senior Supreme Court lawyer contended.

Responding to a question on public opinion which felt that the sentence was excessive and unfair, the former attorney general said, “If public opinion is misinformed, I will ignore it.”

“Does the public know that the minimum sentence is five years and it cannot be reduced? Judge Kode would have committed an illegality if he had given him three years,” Mr Sorabjee said. He outrightly dismissed charges suggesting that the special Tada judge was “misdirected” or “miscarried” in sentencing Sanjay Dutt to six years. “By the way, Sanjay is in one way fortunate. If he would have been convicted under Tada, there would have been great problems,” the veteran lawyer maintained.

“In a way the, judge was a bit lenient towards him, the way he kept on adjourning the matter, not pronouncing the verdict and various other things,” Mr Sorabjee observed.

However, he said if he had been the judge in Mr Kode’s place, he would have awarded a combination of rigorous and simple imprisonment. “If I had been a judge, I would have given simple imprisonment for half the period and rigorous for the other half,” he said. “You may tamper justice by mercy, but not by sentiments; not by what Bollywood says,” he said — a view which was endorsed in Mumbai by the special public prosecutor in the case.

“This type of campaign is unfair. This shakes the confidence of the common man in the judiciary and is an indirect attempt at influencing the court of law,” Mr Nikam asserted.

“There are still remedies left open to the convicted prisoner,” he told a news agency. He decried efforts mounted by a section of the film industry and the media to run down the judicial verdict. “If someone starts such a campaign criticising the order of the court (before the prisoner seeks relief), it certainly amounts to contempt of court. I am watching the events carefully and if this continues, I will be forced to take legal action,” Mr Nikam warned.

He criticised the role of TV channels in the matter, saying, “The way they are running polls and interviews, romanticising the prisoner, is ridiculous. Why isn’t Bollywood shedding tears for the victims of the bomb blasts?” he wondered.

Meanwhile, Salman Khan appears before court tomorrow(it's already tomorrow in India) in his appeal against his five year sentence for "Porching Chinkara".

It seems that Tuesday will be judgment day for Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in the Chinkara poaching case.

Khan was at the Sessions Court in Jodhpur on Monday for a hearing on his appeal against a lower court judgment sentencing him to five year for hunting a Chinkara in 1998.

Although Khan's lawyers are working hard, the star looked rather tense, and the prosecution says that it has clinching evidence to make sure Salman goes to jail.

''The Gypsy that was used for poaching. There were clear bloodstains of Chinkara. That was established by the forensic report.''

''We have enough circumstantial evidence. People can lie but certainly these pieces of evidence form nature that exist against the star cannot be false,'' said Mahipal Vishnoi, Prosecution Lawyer.

But Khan's lawyers are trying every trick in the book to ensure he doesn't have to go to jail.

They say that the police filed the complaint in this case, but according to the Wildlife Protection Act, it should have been the Forest Department.

Yet with the lower court having convicted him and the prosecution insisting that they have a watertight case, Khan faces a tough battle to stay out of jail.