Sanjay Dutt to walk free on February 27

Mumbai bomb blast accused actor Sanjay Dutt will be released from Yerawada Jail on February 27 on completion of his five-year jail sentence. Home department officials maintained that contrary to popular perception, he was not being granted any additional remission and was just being released as per prison laws.

An official, on condition anonymity, said that the state has only condoned the penalty of the six additional days of jail term that had been added to the sentence because the actor reported two days late after furlough. However, later it was found that it was a consequence of some miscommunication by the jail authorities. “After inquiry it was found that the jail authorities were at fault in reporting to the actor that his application for further extension to his furlough was rejected. Therefore, it was not his fault that he surrendered two days after his furlough got over. If Dutt was found at fault, his jail term would have been extended by another six days. That was the only issue before the home department for consideration. The state has not given him any remittance,” the official said.

The official further said that the actor has already spent three-and-a-half years in jail including the time he spent as an undertrial. Besides this the jail term also includes the remission of sentence that any convict earns every month on account of his good behavior. “This remission also includes the financial remission accrued on account of the type of work the convict performs inside the jail. The remission earned ranges from two to five days every month,” he said.He further added, “So far Sanjay Dutt has earned a remission of about another one-and-half years on account of his good behavior and the work he has done.”

Dutt was sentenced to five-year imprisonment after he was convicted for possessing an illegal AK-47, part of the weapons meant to be used during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts in which 257 people were killed. The 56-year-old actor was jailed in 1996 and spent 18 months behind bars before walking out on bail. In 2013, the Supreme Court confirmed his conviction and sentenced him to five years in prison. Dutt is now completing the remaining prison term of 42 months. After he was sent to Yerawada jail in May 2013, Mr Dutt has been out on parole twice and an equal number of times on furlough.