Sanjay Dutt who has been found guilty under Sections 3 and 7 of the Arms Act faces a minimum of 5 years in prison.
A senior lawyer told rediff.com, "Dutt has been found guilty of contravention of Sections 3 and 7 of the Arms Act. Section 3 deals with the possession of a firearm without a licence. The punishment for this, prescribed under Section 25/1B, is a minimum of one year with can be extended upto a maximum of three years."
"Section 7 deals with possession of a prohibited weapon (like an automatic or an AK-56 rifle). The minimum punishment for this, prescribed under Section 25/1A is 5 years with can be extended to 10 years. Punishments under both Section 3 and 7 include fines."
So what now for Sanjay Dutt?
"Since there may be a few weeks more for sentencing, Dutt lawyers could ask for extension of his bail. But he will have to surrender on the day on sentencing. After that he will be taken into custody," the lawyer said.
"Ssince the punishment under Section 7 is a minimum of five years, he cannot apply for bail at the TADA court once he is sentenced. He will have to file an appeal against his conviction in the Supreme Court. Once the appeal is filed, he can apply for bail in the apex court," the lawyer said.
