Centre advised not to challenge Dutt acquittal

NEW DELHI: In a relief to the Samajwadi Party, attorney general Goolam Vahanvati has advised the Centre against challenging the acquittal of Bollywood star-cum-politician Sanjay Dutt from terror charges in connection with the 1993 bombings in Mumbai.

Union law minister Veerappa Moily had recently sought a fresh legal opinion from the top law officer on a plea by the CBI. This was seen in political circles as part of an attempt to corner personalities close to the Samajwadi Party.

But the AG has opined against reopening the case. Mr Vahanvati gave his view while confirming solicitor general Gopal Subramanian���s legal opinion in 2007 that the CBI failed to adduce enough evidence against Mr Dutt for his conviction under terror charges. He was convicted instead for illegal possession of arms.

Mr Subramanian, then functioning as additional solicitor general, had told the government that owing to paucity of evidence linking Mr Dutt to terrorism, the anti-terror court of Mumbai had rightly convicted him for only possessing illegal arms.

Mr Subramanian had accordingly opined that it would not be a sound legal proposition for the government to go in an appeal against the anti-terror law���s court verdict on Mr Dutt.

The CBI had wanted to know if its failure to challenge Mr Dutt���s acquittal from terror charges might strengthen the appeals of other terror convicts in the Mumbai serial bombings case.

Mr Dutt was sentenced to six years of jail July 31, 2007, by the Mumbai anti-terror court of special judge P D Kode. He was given bail by the apex court Nov 27, 2007 after the CBI took a lenient view against him and other similarly placed people convicted of charges other than terrorism.