Sanjay Dutt might well have taken the most cherished bow of his lifetime. No, not at one of those glitzy award ceremonies, where the glamour and the artificial sheen of the filmy world is a dead giveaway to the shallow moorings. Quite removed from it, the actor this time stood in front of Pune’s Yerawada jail where he had just begun to serve his six year sentence. And, the audience consisted largely of his family, the policemen turned out neatly in mufti, a battery of lawyers, his close friends from the movie fraternity, old school mates from Sanawar, and above a wildly cheering group of people moved by the actor’s ordeal over the past year or so. Coming from one of the foremost families of the rarefied world of Mumbai movie makers, the life of the hugely popular actor has been a roller-coaster ride gone awfully wrong.
In the latest episode, which resulted in Sanjay’s conviction in a case related to the 1993 Bombay blasts, the actor got the breather due to a technicality ignored by the Mumbai TADA court. The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan enlarged Dutt on bail till the TADA court provides him with a copy of the judgment. Dutt or “Sanju Baba”, as he is popularly known, will have to surrender after the copy is delivered. However, the moot point remains: Is our judicial system right in punishing someone like Sanjay Dutt, when the real criminals manage to walk away scot-free under the very eyes of the law. By acquiring an AK 47 and ammunition from people linked to the Bombay blasts, Dutt no doubt committed a mistake. But it was just that: a mistake. Nothing more. It certainly wasn’t a crime, and going by the spirit of law, Dutt should have been pardoned or at least given a lighter sentence. ered more than enough. He has realized his mistake and is a reformed man by all accounts.
Lets just talk about the extent that he has deviated from the accepted behavior. Those of you fond of guns, will vouch for the pride of place an AK 47 or Kalashnikov will occupy in your collection. I personally own a .12 bore, a .22, and a revolver (all licensed). But to own an AK would be a dream come true. It is the ultimate weapon in its class. I have fired it twice (in air, of course) and I know the feeling. It would find a ready market if the government were to make its ownership legal. So what did Sanjay Dutt do? He had the means to acquire the ultimate weapon and he did that illegaly. I don't think he intended to kill anyone with the weapon. And, for his this indiscretion he has suffered more than enough.By the way, what does the law strive to achieve by punishing an individual? The pundits say that the objective is to ‘Reform’ the person. By punishing individuals gone-wrong, the law strives to make one realize his or her mistake so that it is not repeated. Dutt, I guess has already realized that many times over. So, what is the point in sending him away for a good six years? Lets hear it from you…….
