Look up petition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer.

In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some official and signed by numerous individuals. A petition may be oral rather than written, and in this era may be transmitted via the Internet.

Legal[link]

Petition can also be the title of a legal pleading that initiates a legal case. The initial pleading in a civil lawsuit that seeks only money (damages) might be called (in most U.S. courts) a complaint. An initial pleading in a lawsuit that seeks non-monetary or "equitable" relief, such as a request for a writ of mandamus or habeas corpus, custody of a child, or probate of a will, is instead called a petition.

Early history[link]

In pre-modern Imperial China petitions were always sent to an Office of Transmission (Tongzheng si or 通政司) where court secretaries read petitions aloud to the emperor.^[1] Petitions could be sent by anybody, from a scholar-official to a common farmer, although the petitions were more likely read to the emperor if they were persuasive enough to impeach questionable and corrupt local officials from office.^[1] When petitions arrived to the throne, multiple copies were made of the original and stored with the Office of Supervising Secretaries before the original written petition was sent to the emperor.^[1]

Petitions were a common form of protest and request to the British House of Commons in the 18th and 19th centuries, the largest being the Great/People's Charter, or petition of the Chartists. They are still presented in small numbers.

The Petition Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of the people "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The right to petition has been held to include the right to file lawsuits against the government.

Modern use[link]

Petitions are commonly used in the U.S. to qualify candidates for public office to appear on a ballot; while anyone can be a write-in candidate, a candidate desiring that his or her name appear on printed ballots and other official election materials must gather a certain number of valid signatures from registered voters. In jurisdictions whose laws allow for ballot initiatives, the gathering of a sufficient number of voter signatures qualilfies a proposed initiative to be placed on the ballot. The 2003 California recall election, which culminated in the recall of Governor Gray Davis and the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger, began when U.S. Representative Darrell Issa employed paid signature gatherers who obtained millions of signatures at a cost to Issa of millions of dollars. Once the requisite number of signatures was obtained on the recall petition, other petitions were circulated by would-be candidates who wanted to appear on the ballot as possible replacements for Davis. After that step, a vote on the recall was scheduled.

Other types of petitions include those that sought to free Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment by the former apartheid government of South Africa. The petitions had no legal effect, but the signatures of millions of people on the petitions represented a moral force that may have helped free Mandela and end apartheid. Non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International often use petitions in an attempt to exert moral authority in support of various causes. Other nongovernmental subjects of petition drives include corporate personnel decisions.^[2] Internet petition is a new form of a petition becoming commonplace in the 21st century.

See also[link]

• Motion (legal)
• Motion for leave
• Internet Petition

References[link]

External links[link]

•  "Petition". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. 

Sanjay Dutt
Born	Sanjay Balraj Dutt (1959-07-29) 29 July 1959 (age 52) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Film actor, film producer, comedian, politician, television presenter
Years active	1972, 1981–present
Spouse	Richa Sharma (1987–1996) (deceased) Rhea Pillai (1995–2005) (divorced)[1] Manyata Dutt (2008–present)[2]
Children	Trishala, Shahraan, Iqra
Parents	Sunil Dutt Nargis Dutt

Sanjay Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is a prominent Indian Hindi film star, producer and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981. He has since featured in films that are amongst some of the most popular Hindi language films of the past three decades.

Personal life[link]

Dutt was born on 29 July 1959 to Bollywood megastars Sunil Dutt and Nargis and was educated at The Lawrence School, Sanawar.^[3] Dutt married the actress Richa Sharma in 1987.^[4] Sharma died of brain tumour. The couple have a daughter, Trishala, born in 1987, who lives in the United States with her grandparents, following a custody battle with Dutt after the death of his wife.^[5] Dutt's second marriage was to model Rhea Pillai in 1998.^[6] They divorced in 2005. Dutt married Manyata (also known as Dilnawaz Sheikh)^[7] in 2008 at a private ceremony in Goa, after two years of dating.^[8] On 21 October 2010, he became a father to twins, a boy named Shahraan and a girl named Iqra.^[9] He is well known for several altercations with the law, along with many other controversies throughout his life, as well as drug addiction in his early years.^{[citation needed]} He spent 5 months in prison in late 1982 after being caught in possession of illegal substances, upon his release he spent 2 years in the United States, the majority of which was spent in a Texan rehab clinic before returning to India and resuming his career.

Film career[link]

As a child actor, Dutt appeared in the 1972 film Reshma Aur Shera, which starred his father; he appears briefly as a qawali singer. Dutt made his Bollywood movie debut with Rocky in 1981. His mother passed away three days before the film's premiere. He went on to star in Vidhaata, the highest grossing Hindi film of 1982. In 1985 he shot for his first film in three years with Jaan ki baazi over the rest of the 1980s, Dutt appeared in successful films such as Main Awara Hoon (1983), Jeeva (1986), Mera Haque (1986), Immandaar, Inaam Dus Hazaar (1987), Jeete Hain Shaan Se (1987), Ilaaka (1989), Hum Bhi Insaan Hain (1989), Mardon Wali Baat (1988), Kanoon Apna Apna (1989), and Taaqatwar (1989).

The 1986 film Naam was Dutt's first major critical success, earning praise for his sensitive portrayal of lead character Vicky Kapoor. He also received critical acclaim for his performances in Mahesh Bhatt's Kabzaa and J. P. Dutta's 1989 Hathyar.^{[citation needed]} His successes continued in the early 1990s, with films that include Tejaa, Thanedaar, Khoon Ka Karz, Gumrah, Sahibaan and Aatish. He went on to star in some of the most era-defining Indian films of the 1990s such as Sadak, Saajan (for which he was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award) and Khal Nayak, for which he earned his second Filmfare Best Actor Award nomination. Three weeks before its release, however, in April 1993, he was arrested, charged with involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bombings.

Dutt was imprisoned for most of the next four years, while films he had worked in continued to appear from time to time. Finally released on bail in late 1997, he returned to the screen in director Ram Gopal Verma's now cult film Daud, but despite the movie taking in a phenomenal opening the film crashed and was labelled a flop by critics. He then played a supporting role in the 1998 hit Dushman.

1999 was seen as Sanjay's comback year as he started the year off by starring in the Mahesh Bhatt directed hit Kartoos along with Khoobsurat, Daag: The Fire, Haseena Maan Jayegi and, most importantly, the Award winning Vaastav: The Reality, for which he won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. His supporting role in 2000's Mission Kashmir won him critical acclaim and a number of awards and nominations, as did his subsequent performance in Kurukshetra. As the decade went on, he continued to play important roles in popular and critical successes such as Jodi No.1 (2001), Pitaah, Kaante (2002) and the National Award-winning blockbuster Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., which also garnered him several awards. Later successes came with Musafir (2004), Plan (2004), Parineeta (2005) and Dus.

The blockbuster sequel Lage Raho Munna Bhai released in late 2006, coinciding with the start of the Mumbai bombing's trial where the nation became transfixed with Dutt's court ongoings which saw him found not guilty of terrorism related acts but jailed on two occasions between 2006-2007 for short periods, as he was found guilty under the possesion of arms act despite this he continued appearing in successes like, Dhamaal (2007), Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), and All The Best: Fun Begins (2009), Double Dhamaal (2011) and more recently Agneepath which earned him major critical acclaim once again.

In 2006 news channel NDTV named him Indian of the Year.In 2007 he received an award from the prime minister Manmohan Singh for his work in the Munna bhai series.^{[citation needed]}. In January 2008,Indian film institute Filmfare listed 14 movies featuring Dutt in its top 100 grossing movies of all time list.

Illegal possession of arms[link]

Due to terrorist interactions, and supposed weapons possession, on 19 April 1993, Sanjay was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA).^[10] He spent 16 months in jail until he was granted bail in October 1995 by the Supreme Court of India. He was later re-arrested in December 1995 and re-released in April 1997 once again on police bail terms. In 2006 the case opened for sentencing for all accused (see below). The period between 2006-2007 saw Dutt spend 7 months in Arthur Road Prison and Pune prison on three occasions for arms offences, although in 2006 Dutt was finally acquitted of any TADA-related offenses but was charged under the illegal possession of arms act.

In November 1993, a 90,000-page long primary chargesheet was filed against the 189 accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case including Sanjay.^[11]

In March 2006, when framing muthar charges against extradited Abu Salem and co-accused Riyaz Siddiqui in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, the prosecution said that Salem delivered 9 AK-56 rifles and some hand grenades to Dutt at his Bandra house in the second week of January 1993.^[12]

On 13 February 2007, the special branch of Mumbai police arrested Abdul Qayyum Abdul Karim Shaikh, a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim and wanted by Mumbai Police Special Task Force for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts from Mumbai.^[13] Qayuum had been named by Sanjay Dutt in his confessional statement. Sanjay had said that he met Qayuum in Dubai in September 1992 and bought a pistol from him. According to CBI, the pistol was sold to Sanjay at the instance of Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim.^[14]

On 31 July 2007, Dutt was sentenced to six years rigorous imprisonment for illegally possessing weapons.^[15] At the same time, Dutt was also "cleared of terrorism conspiracy charges in the blasts" related to the 1993 bombings.^[15] According to The Guardian, "The actor claimed he feared for his life after the notorious "Black Friday" bombings, which were allegedly staged by Mumbai's Muslim-dominated mafia in retaliation for deadly Hindu-Muslim clashes a few months earlier. But the judge, Pramod Kode, rejected this defence and also refused bail."^[15] Dutt was immediately taken into custody and sent to Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail. As the sentence was pronounced, Dutt was "visibly shocked and was seen shivering and holding back tears".^[10]

On 2 August 2007, Sanjay Dutt was moved from Arthur Road jail in Mumbai to the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune.^[16] On 7 August 2007, Dutt appealed the sentence.^[17] On 20 August 2007, the Supreme Court of India granted Dutt interim bail. He was released after Yerwada Central Jail authorities received a copy of the court's bail order. The bail was valid until the time the special TADA court, which sentenced Dutt on 31 July, provides a copy of its judgment to him.^[18] Dutt was released from jail on 23 August.^[19] On 22 October 2007 Dutt was back in jail but again applied for bail. On 27 November 2007, Dutt was granted bail by the Supreme Court.^[20] He currently has an appeal for an acquittal pending.^[21] In January 2009, Dutt announced that he would contest the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on the Samajwadi Party ticket.^[22] However, he withdrew his candidacy in March 2009 after the Supreme Court refused to suspend his conviction, the party instead named him the General Secretary of the party. He left the post in late 2010. ^[23]

International humanitarian initiatives[link]

On 16 December 2008, he was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for IIMSAM — the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition. He will be promoting the use of Spirulina to help the organization's advocacy and endeavor against malnutrition and hunger. His role will also support IIMSAM's efforts to secure the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by mainstreaming the use of Spirulina to eradicate malnutrition, achieve food security and bridge the health divide with a special priority for the developing and the least developed countries.^[24]

Bigg Boss[link]

The veteran actor hosted the fifth season of reality TV show, Bigg Boss on Colors.^[25]

Super Fight League[link]

Dutt and celebrity entrepreneur IPL cricket team owner Raj Kundra together launched India's first professionally organized mixed martial arts league — the Super Fight League — on 16 January 2012.^[26]

Awards and honors[link]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Producer[link]

• Zinda (2006)
• Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007)
• Dus Kahaniyaan (2007)
• Rascals (2011)
• Satte Pe Satta Remake Double role (2012)

Television[link]

• Bigg Boss (season 5)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sanjay Dutt

• Sanjay Dutt at the Internet Movie Database
• Sanjay Dutt to host Bigg Boss 5!

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