Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has once again opened up about his controversial past, asserting that despite serving jail time for illegal arms possession, authorities never discovered any firearm in his custody. He described his years behind bars as a harsh but instructive chapter, one he faced “with dignity.”
Dutt’s candid remarks came during a recent televised interview in which he revisited the events leading up to his imprisonment after the 1993 Bombay blasts. Though he was acquitted of terror‐related charges under the TADA Act, he was convicted under the Arms Act. “They said that I had a gun, but they could not prove it,” he said. “So I do not know what it was that put me inside. I don’t know why it took 25 years for them to realise I was not part of that,” he added.
The actor did not shy away from describing the emotional toll the ordeal took on his family. He said that during those turbulent times, his father and sisters were threatened. The fear and uncertainty surrounding those threats, according to him, made the charges far more painful. He remarked that his repeated requests to courts and prosecutors were simple: expedite the case, conclude it, “whatever it was.”
Inside jail, Dutt said he did not give up hope. Instead, he used the confinement as a period of introspection. He read religious and spiritual scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Shiv Puran, and Ganesh Puran. He engaged in meditation, prayer, and even turned to creative pursuits, directing a makeshift theatre group and running an internal radio station for inmates. Through it all he said he maintained dignity and emerged a changed person.
The conviction under the Arms Act has been the subject of legal and public debate for decades. Despite the serious sentence and long duration behind bars, many of Dutt’s supporters and critics alike have questioned the absence of physical evidence, no gun or ammunition was ever recovered that could conclusively link him to the alleged possession. Dutt reiterated this point, saying that even after years of litigation and incarceration, the core evidence was still missing.
By sharing his version once more, Dutt appears intent on reclaiming his narrative, not as a man defined by his legal conviction, but as someone who endured, reflected and reinvented himself. The actor credited his jail days with breaking his ego and reshaping his perspective on life. He said he learned the law, found solace in spirituality, and discovered creative outlets that helped him stay grounded.
In a career filled with highs and turmoil, this latest confession adds another layer to his complex legacy. Dutt urged that justice systems handle cases swiftly so that innocent persons are not left languishing under long legal shadows. For him, the ordeal was not just a punishment but a strange kind of education, one that, he says, tested his resilience, transformed his faith and reshaped his outlook on life.