Apex court seeks centre, CBI's stand on Sanjay Dutt's plea

The Supreme Court sought the stance of the union government and the CBI on a lawsuit by Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt seeking suspension of his conviction in a criminal case to enable him to fight the forthcoming general elections.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the stance of the union government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a lawsuit by Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt seeking suspension of his conviction in a criminal case to enable him to fight the forthcoming general elections.

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A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice Markandey Katju and Justice P. Sathasivam sought the CBI and government's stand while issuing them notices on Dutt's lawsuit.

The bench sought the replies within two weeks and fixed March 30 for the next hearing of Dutt's plea.

Dutt has moved the apex court for suspension of his conviction seeking parity with cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu whose conviction in a case of unintentional killing was stayed by the Supreme Court in 2007 to enable him to run for elections.

Dutt Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking suspension of his conviction for possessing firearms during the 1993 Mumbai serial terror bombings.