Sanjay case: roadblock on fast track

Sanjay Dutt’s appeal in the Supreme Court against the recent Mumbai special TADA court sentence will not be heard on Friday as he had expected, reports Satya Prakash.

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt’s appeal in the Supreme Court against the recent Mumbai special TADA court sentence will not be heard on Friday as he had expected.

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The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to include his appeal and bail application in the list of cases scheduled to come up for hearing on Friday.

Dutt’s counsel Fali S. Nariman requested a Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan to direct listing of the case on Friday. “There seems to be some confusion. When I mentioned the case yesterday, it was meant to be listed for hearing on August 10. But somehow it has now been put in the mentioning list,” Nariman said.

The Chief Justice told Nariman: “You go and make a request before the mentioning court.” Matters in the mentioning list are not heard in detail and the court generally gives an early date in deserving cases.

Earlier, the counsel for Aziz Ahmed Shaikh, the first convict in the Mumbai blasts case to move the Supreme Court against the TADA court’s verdict, told the court that as his client’s case was filed before Dutt’s, it should be listed with that of the actor’s.

A bench, headed by Justice B.N. Agrawal, said there would be no discrimination and that Dutt’s case would be heard with those of the other accused.