Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt Thursday got further time to surrender as a special court hearing arguments on his bail plea in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case fixed Feb 20 as the next date.

Dutt has urged for leniency before the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court that convicted him in November 2006 for possessing illegal arms but absolved him of terror conspiracy charges.

The judge granted Dutt extension of time to surrender until further orders. The court, which had granted him a one-day bail extension on Tuesday as well as Wednesday, heard arguments by the prosecution on his application seeking benefit under the Probation of Offenders Act.

As arguments remained inconclusive, Dutt's senior counsel V.K. Manohar was given time till Feb 20 to file a rejoinder.

Opposing the Bollywood star's plea, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) counsel and special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam demanded that Dutt be given the maximum sentence of 10 years.

"Despite having three licensed rifles and one pistol, Dutt knowingly purchased an illegal weapon of mass destruction like the AK-56 rifle for self-protection.

"He is a habitual offender. His possession of the AK-56 was not only his first offence. He was in possession of an automatic pistol which he had illegally acquired prior to the 1993 Mumbai bombings," Nikam contended.

"Besides, he was well acquainted with proclaimed offenders like mobster Dawood Ibrahim and his brother Anees. Dutt in his confessional statement has also admitted of having met India's most wanted criminal at a dinner party hosted by the latter in Dubai in 1992," he said.

Dutt had acquired an AK-56 allegedly from mobster Abu Salem's aide Ibrahim Mussa in January 1993 as he thought he needed self-protection.

He was arrested in April 1993, a month after the blasts rocked Mumbai, and spent nearly 16 months in jail in two stretches.

"This apart, asking his co-accused to destroy the AK-56 rifle only shows Dutt's guilty mind."

The special public prosecutor said that the benefits under the Probation of Offenders Act should not be extended to Dutt.

Arguments on sentencing of the other convicts will be taken up from Feb 14.

Dutt is also facing flak from other blast convicts who say he has been given preferential treatment.

This is the sixth reprieve for the Bollywood star since November when he was found guilty of possessing a 9mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle.

Under the Arms Act, Dutt faces punishment ranging from five to 10 years in jail.