Actor Sanjay Dutt :Sheriff Attaches Property In Mumbai On Court Orders

Upholding an award passed by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA), the arbitrator in the dispute between Dutt and producer Shakeel Noorani, the Bombay high court recently ordered the attachment of two properties owned by the actor.

These include his residence at Imperial Heights building in Pali Hill, Bandra, and his office, Sanjay Dutt Productions, at Mayfair Melody in Santa Cruz.

Noorani who signed Dutt for an unreleased film Jaan ki Baazi had claimed Rs2.03 crore, including the signing amount of Rs50 lakh, from the actor contending that Dutt had not abided by the shooting dates decided in 2001, causing him huge financial losses.

As per an agreement between the IMPPA and the Cine Artists’ Association, of which Dutt is a member, financial disputes like these are referred to IMPPA.

The IMPPA recently ruled in favour of Noorani and applied for the execution of the decree to attach Dutt’s property. The execution department of the high court last week issued a warrant, after which a bailiff from the sheriff’s court pasted notices of attachment on the properties, said Ashok Saraogi, Noorani’s lawyer.

Saraogi said if Dutt does not pay the money claimed by Noorani within 30 days, the attached properties can be auctioned. He, however, added that Dutt also has the option of challenging this order before the high court.

Dutt’s advocate Satish Maneshinde said they will decide their future course of action after going through the decree execution order of the high court and also the award passed by the IMPPA.

The award passed by the arbitrator states that Dutt and Noorani had agreed to work on the film in October 2001. But the film could not be completed as Dutt did not assign dates for shooting of half of the film. The IMPPA award also says the actor had sought two adjournments when he was called for a hearing and failed to appear before the arbitrator on another occasion.