Readerspeak: Dutt was let off lightly

New Delhi: As a dapper, bleary-eyed Munnabhai walked out of the TADA court on Mumbai's Arthur Road – having heard his verdict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case – he set in motion a chain of reactions.

Thousands of readers from across the globe logged onto IBNLive.com to voice their opinion on what is being described as a 50:50 verdict for the star and it was clearly a divided verdict on the Web as well.

However, while many hailed Munnabhai and prayed for his well-being, a significant percentage of readers also believed that the star was let off lightly.

While some like Raman said, "Sanjay Dutt is a fighter and he will definitely bounce back with more good movies and to being No. 1 in the movie business. He is not a terrorist or bad man he is one of the best person in the whole film industry,” others like Abhishek were less forgiving.

“I think court has been little bit soft on Mr Dutt. His celebrity status and connections with Congress party has given him benefits of lesser punishment. He should have been treated as a normal person by the learned judge. He might not be a regular criminal but that doesn't make his crimes lesser in effect. He deserves a more sever punishment.”

Another reader, K Venkataraman mailed to [email protected] writing, “Sanjay Dutt has been let off lightly with a rap on his knuckles. He has been found guilty on the charge of possessing lethal weapons like AK-56. But on other charges of terrorism and conspiracy he has not only been acquitted but given a clean chit by the honourable judge. If a person is able to acquire lethal and prohibited weapons like AK-56 with the connivance of friends is there not the element of joint effort leading to conspiracy? How does one say that he got these deadly weapons only for the purpose of self defence and not for any terrorist activities? There is a feeling that the due process of law got bent in this particular instance. Undue pressure exerted by his fans through the media and other means and also by Bollywood business financiers seems to have had some indirect influence. The same consideration and leniency seems to have not been extended to others who were in the dock on similar charges.”

So has Sanjay Dutt really been let off lightly, as pointed by Venkataraman? As experts debated the issue on CNN-IBN show Face the Nation, one reader had an interesting perspective to offer.

’Sanjay has been let off lightly’

“Accepting the verdict and serving the sentence and apologising for any mistake (inadvertent or otherwise) would do him a lot of good. No point pondering about the sentence. He will turn out a better human being that way,” wrote a reader who just called himself Sinha.

Another argument that made for much debate was whether the possession of deadly weapons like AK-56 rifles made Dutt an accused good enough to be charged under TADA.

In fact, this was one the most debated points among the readers. “Ridiculous, absurd. I fail to understand, how is everybody congratulating him? Just because he is a good actor, and has done some endearing roles? The one who keeps three AK-56 rifles, ammunition, 9 mm pistol, and grenades for self-defence, and remember these were all part of the consignment smuggled in by Tiger Memon. If he were not a famous actor, without the power, money and contacts, would we all have thought the same?” asked a reader Sud.

Similar arguments were raised by many others. Here’s one, sent by Vinod B. “No matter this proves that justice is not even for the poor and the rich, Sanjay Dutt got the most deadly assault rifle on earth from a terrorist and this line is enough that he had terrorism connections, irrespective of whether he was with them for the blasts or not, he didn’t identify them and more over pledged that he needed assault rifle for his security. Nevermind that he played some good roles in some patriotic movies, but that cannot give any leverage for such things.”

“No amount of sermons on the silver screen should camouflage the hidden Hyde personality. The proven guilty should be as equally ready to take the punishment as was ready to collide with the terrorists earlier. He is not a juvenile delinquent to plead innocence, either,” wrote a reader Seshagiri Row Karry.

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Another reader Sundar was more point-blank about his disapproval. “What a joke! Three AK-56s, 9 mm pistol and hand grenades for self defense?”

But the legend of Munnabhai lived on. “I don't think Sanjay Dutt was involved in conspiracy of destroying Mumbai with those bomb blasts, Why he had the AK-56s was because he felt threatened. He has been punished for that. I wish him all the good luck that he comes out clean. He has definitely corrected himself after that isn’t it?” argued Albale

And then, there were the usual blessings, bouquets and fan mails for Munnabhai. Wrote Narendra Dayal, “We need to support Sanjay Dutt at this crucial juncture. He is a innocent man who did a mistake(by possessing an arm)in his young days when he was young and supported by his father. Now he is a very responsible citizen and is being loved by almost 80 per cent of common man who know and see cinema. We heartily pray for his acquittal.”

“It’s sad that the verdict is 50:50, for a celebrity like him whose life is an open book. As an Indian I feel strongly for him that he should have been acquitted of all the charges. What about those sitting right below the images of Bapu and in the corridors of power misruling the country?” wrote in Wilma.

Some were, well, illogically emotional as well. Wrote Suman Singh, “How can you convict someone who is such a nice human being, suffered a lot and has followed the principles of Gandhi. Sanjay Dutt is an icon, not a guilty man.”

Another one: “Who is carrier or messenger of Gandhi’s ideology, cannot be terrorist in independent India,” wrote Shivam Dubey.

But amid a babble of negative and too-sympathetic responses were some that made perfect sense as well. “I welcome the mixed judgement that labels him free from the charges of terrorism but convicts him for possessing illegal weaponry. Something which is not lawful cannot be condoned but at the same time I feel that Sanjay Dutt should not be sentenced again. You will all agree that 13 years of anguish and 18 months of vigorous imprisonment is a far greater punishment for the crime Sanjay Dutt has been found guilty for. Spending the prime of his life facing heinous charges of conspiracy against his own country, a country for which his family has delivered on numerous occasions, constantly dreading what the next morning has in store, living apart from his daughter, reporting regularly at the courts and never once being able to live normally is sentence enough for Dutt. I hope the court takes a similar approach. Moreover I wish that leaders like Mr Gopinath Munde, who is totally unmoved about Dutt not being an anti-national but is satisfied because “kuch saza to hui hain” don’t decide to take this case as an opportunity to seek political mileage or rather to vent out political vendetta,” wrote in Afshan Adeeb.

“It is really interesting to read the varied comments posted by people. There is no doubt he has done a mistake (or crime let us say) and needs to be punished. At the same time the judiciary can consider suspending his sentence based on his past good behavior. Even convicted and criminals serving the sentence are many times released if their behaviour in the prison is good. The purpose of conviction is not just determent but also reforming,” wrote Praveen.

And some advises too. “Sanjay Dutt have received the desired punishment before and he should be involved in the social work so that the popularity of Sanjay Dutt can be used in betterment of the society and he should be countable to spent some percentage of his income to the charities. At least, he does some good work thru his films preaching people Gandhigiri,” wrote Vishal.