Click to play videoMumbai: Sanjay Dutt, and his family seemed to be preparing of the worst when the actor gave a final hug to his sister Priya before leaving for the TADA Court.
However, an hour later, as Priya Dutt emerged before the cameras, the relief on he face was visible. Her brother may have been charged under the Arms Act, but he had been acquitted of a more serious offence of being a terrorist.
"The court has ruled that my brother is not a terrorist, that he was not part of the conspiracy, just that is a great relief for us,” Priya Dutt said.
Charged under the Arms Act, the lesser verdict seemed to give rise to a hope among the family and Dutt's lawyers that he would not have to serve an extended prison sentence.
Meanwhile, the lawyers are ready to push for bail.
"Once we get the written copy, then we will sit with some of our senior lawyers and decide the future course of action,” says Dutt's Lawyer, Satish Mane Shinde.
While Dutt's family viewed the verdict as a vindication, the police was less forgiving. For them, Dutt's act of acquiring weapons from the underworld in a notified area was enough for him to pay the price.
"He was not a child that he can be forgiven for the mistake. Possession of arms is a serious crime and hence he is a criminal,” says former Mumbai Police Commissioner, A S Samara.
But the family wanted to remember Sunil Dutt in the end. For years Sunil Dutt had insisted that his son was not a terrorist. Today, the court seemed to acknowledge that - a fact that will give the Dutts some comfort as they prepare for another legal battle.
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