Author: PTI
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 6, 2007
The prosecutor in the 1993 serial blasts case
on Sunday described an attempt by Bollywood to start a campaign in support
of jailed actor Sanjay Dutt as "unfair" and said it would amount
to contempt of court. "This type of campaign is unfair. This shakes the
confidence of the common man in the judiciary and is an indirect attempt at
influencing the court of law," Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam
said.
"If someone starts such a campaign criticising
the order of the court (before the prisoner seeks relief), it certainly amounts
to contempt of court. I am watching the events carefully and if this continues,
I will be forced to take legal action," said Nikam. "There are still
remedies left open to the convicted prisoner," he said.
Nikam was reacting to media reports that Bollywood
stars were thinking of launching a signature campaign to free Dutt, who was
last week given a six-year jail term by a TADA court for illegally possessing
weapons.
He criticised the role of TV channels in the
matter, saying, "The way they are running polls and interviews, romanticising
the prisoner, is ridiculous. Why isn't Bollywood shedding tears for the victims
of the bomb blasts?" Dutt, now being held in Pune's Yeravada Jail, is
expected to appeal against his sentence in the Supreme Court.
