MUMBAI, July 31: An anti-terror court on Tuesday sentenced movie star Sanjay Dutt to six years in jail for illegal weapons possession in connection with serial bombings in Mumbai in 1993.

Mr Dutt was convicted last year of buying guns but was cleared of the charge of conspiracy in connection with the attacks.

“Sanjay was not a minor at that time. Acquiring a weapon of this nature suggests the character of the person, and is contrary to the law,” judge Pramod Kode said as he read out the sentence.

“The crime was not brutal, cruel, ghastly, inhuman, not anti-social, not immoral and did not result in any harm to anyone,” the judge said, but added it was still a serious offence and he had encouraged others to break the law. “It was an eminently dangerous act. With the punishment of a minimum of five years and maximum of 10 years it can in no way be a minor offence or of a less grave nature.”

Mr Dutt has already served 18 months on remand in the mid-1990s and he had requested that he be allowed to stay free on probation.

His lawyers had urged that the actor be set free for his good behaviour during his bail. But the court rejected the argument.

The court refused to allow him to remain free on bail pending his appeal to the Supreme Court. He was fined Rs25,000.

The actor was taken into custody in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail.

“I made a mistake 14 years ago... Pray for me,” said Mr Dutt, 48, who was trembling after hearing his sentence.

Mr Dutt has always maintained his innocence, arguing that he had bought a Kalashnikov rifle to protect his family from sectarian violence.

But chief prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters that this was “not good enough an excuse. Dutt is a good actor and a celebrity, but this does not give him a licence for illegal action,” he added, saying the superstar had been given a ‘fair trial’.

Actress Kirron Kher said she was “shocked and saddened”.

—AFP/Reuters