Sanjay Dutt in fresh trouble; Bombay HC questions his early release

Mumbai: In fresh trouble for Sanjay Dutt, the Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to clarify the reasons behind the early release of the actor from jail in the 1993 serial blasts case.

A division bench comprising Justice RM Sawant and Justice Sadhna Jadhav ordered the government to submit an affidavit justifying the decision, what factors were deliberated for allowing the actor get out of the prison eight months early, and the procedures followed while showing leniency towards him.

Sanjay Dutt, who was first arrested in April 1993, was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment in an arms possession case related to the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, which he served in Yerawada Central Jail in Pune.

The court issued the directive to the state government while hearing a PIL filed by Pune-based activist Pradeep Bhalekar challenging the series of furloughs and paroles granted to Dutt when he was serving his sentence.

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Nearly 16 months after he walked out of jail, the court sought to know if the Deputy Inspector General, Prisons was consulted, or whether the Jail Superintendent sent the recommendation directly to the Maharashtra Governor.

"How did the authorities assess that Dutt's conduct was good. When did they get time to make such an assessment when he was out on parole half the time?" asked Justice Sawant.

The matter will come up for further hearing next week.

In 2007, a Special TADA Court in Mumbai had sentenced Dutt to six years imprisonment under the Arms Act, for possession of banned arms which were part of the consignment used during the March 1993 blasts.

During the trial, he was out on bail. After the Supreme Court upheld his conviction but reduced the sentence to five years, Dutt surrendered in May 2013 and was sent to serve the remainder of his sentence in Yerawada jail, having already spent 18 months imprisonment as an undertrial.

While serving his prison term, Dutt shot into headlines frequently for getting paroles or furloughs - totaling to approximately over four months, for tending to his ill wife, for his daughter's surgery, etc.

Finally, on February 25, 2016, he was released eight months before the scheduled date of completion of his sentence, on grounds of good conduct.