A request to see all as equal… Plea to a stay solid on Sanjay Dutt’s verdict

The serial blast of Mumbai in 1993 shook us all but not more than the relatives of 257 people who lost their lives or nothing compared to about 700 others who were severely injured.

Twenty years from then, we have all moved on with our lives but what about the relatives of victims or people who have survived the blast. Most of them perhaps gave up hope of any justice till now when the verdict of an ally in the case, Sanjay Dutt, was delivered.

All this commotion about reviewing the already delayed punishment of a “criminal” makes us wonder whether we are safe anymore. Those asking for pardon of Sanjay Dutt make few points in order to defend him. However, we the general mass think otherwise and would like to counter those points.

Firstly, they believe he suffered a lot over the past 20 years through his multiple visits to court and seeking permission for every foreign trip.

We believe his visits to the court in an air conditioned “Mercedes “ and waiting a couple of days for his luxurious foreign trips is nothing compared to the ordeals of families who lost their dear ones in the blast.

Secondly, they bring up that he belongs to a “well known” family and his parents were involved in a lot of social work.

We believe being “well known” is being “wealthy and spoilt” here. His dad’s occasional visits to the border jawans don’t vouch for him being less guilty of the crime. Law should be above all. Farther, as his father was a member of the parliament the convict could have helped save the disaster by informing higher authority. But he chose to destroy evidence.

Thirdly, they promote him as a family guy with two kids and fear the distress his family will face upon following this verdict.

Being married and having children doesn’t provide one with a license to take an illegal action without being punished. Moreover, he has chosen his path while the innocent victims did not have a choice, neither their families nor dear ones. But apparently, the celebrities prefer to side with the “well known” convict to the innocent victims. But, we - the majority of the common mass beg to differ and believe that Supreme Court’s decision is completely justified.

Lastly, they endorse the fact that he had acted in a movie, which “revived the memory of Mahatma Gandhi and the message of Gandhiji”.

We agree that he did act well in the movie and we enjoyed it as much as his supporters. However, we believe, acting in a screenplay that promotes Gandhiji’s ideology does not make him a national hero just as his roles in negative characters in movies like Agneepath, Vaastav etc. does not make him a criminal.