Ahead of us today, is the Supreme Court verdict on Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt's plea seeking more time to surrender to a jail term of three-and-a-half  years.


Dutt, 53, who was directed to surrender by April 18, urged the apex court to allow him to finish shooting his films, which will take at least 196 days. He submitted that he should be allowed to surrender after the completion of his films.


Dutt, last month said he will surrender before the authorities as per the Supreme Court's direction, and added that he would not be seeking a pardon.


"I will surrender within the time frame set by the Supreme Court. I have the highest respect for the SC and will abide by the law," said an emotional Dutt while briefing the media.


"I have a lot of work to finish. Just want to spend this time with my family and finish my work," he said. "I want to thank everyone who supported me. I love my country. I love India," he added. 


The apex court, which had upheld the death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, a key conspirator with Dawood Ibrahim in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, ordered that Dutt return to jail to serve three-and-a-half years sentence for possessing illegal arms.


Dutt, who is out on bail, will also have to surrender within four weeks to serve a jail term of 42 months as the apex court reduced to five years the six year jail term awarded to him by a designated TADA court in 2007 and he had already spent 18 months behind the bar.


A total of 257 persons were killed and 713 others injured when a series 13 coordinated explosions shattered the metropolis on March 12, 1993. The blasts occurred at 12 places, including Bombay Stock Exchange building, Air-India Building at Nariman Point, at Worli opposite Century Bazaar, Hotels Sea Rock and Juhu Centaur.