Despite its reputation for corruption, India's legal system has sentenced one of Bollywood's most famous actors, Sanjay Dutt, for his link to the 1993 terrorist attack that left 257 people dead and 713 wounded. The AP notes that the bombing was the biggest terrorist attack in India's history.
Dutt, who already spent 20 months in jail for buying illegal weapons from the terrorists, has been on bail since 2007, "when he appealed against his original sentence of six years," reports the BBC. "On Thursday, the Supreme Court reduced it to five years."
From the BBC:
" 'He will have to serve another three-and-a-half year sentence. We had prepared him for the same,' Reuters quoted Dutt's lawyer Satish Maneshinde as saying after the Supreme Court verdict.
'We will wait for a copy of the judgement and then decide the further course of action,' he said. 'He is a strong man and will fight back.'
'Whatever is the judgement of the court I will respect it. I want all to pray for me. God is great,' NDTV channel quoted the actor as saying after the court order.
Dutt, the most high-profile among the convicts, was originally charged with five offences, including criminal conspiracy and possession of illegal weapons.
The trial court had found him guilty of illegally possessing a rifle and a pistol but cleared him of conspiracy."
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