Mumbai, Sept 16: Film actor Sanjay Dutt today failed to appear before a designated court in the 1993 bomb blast case due to ill health even as another accused filed a petition challenging the constitutional validity of Tada (P) Act.
On a plea by defence lawyers Subhash Kanse and Farhana Shah, the Judge P D Kode exempted 89 accused, including Sanjay Dutt, till month end. However, he asked Sanjay to attend the court on September 18.
Sanjay's lawyer Farhana Shah urged the court to excuse the actor for not appearing before the court as he was suffering from viral infection.
The accused were exempted on conditions that they would not maintain any contact with absconding accused and would not leave the jurisdiction of the court.
CBI today sought time until September 23 to conclude its
arguments in this marathon trial which has reached its fag end
after seven years. The court granted its plea.
In a related development, accused Shaikh Aziz challenged
the constitutional validity of Tada (P) Act. His lawyer, Nafiz
Siddiqui, argued that the act was ultravires the constitution
and the special court should make a reference to the supreme
court to determine the validity of the act.
CBI's lawyer S Natrajan, however, opposed the plea of the
accused to make a reference to the supreme court. He said the
special court had no powers to entertain such a petition.
Natrajan also argued that the accused should have gone
directly to the apex court instead of approaching the
designated Tada (P) court. The judge allowed CBI to file its
say on the matter on September 30.
Bureau Report
