Today the Maharashtra govt. has been asked by Bombay High Court, to justify its decision to allow him to leave jail early last year before he completed his 5-year sentence. Sanjay Dutta, 57, was convicted 4 years ago by the Supreme Court of acquiring illegal guns from the men convicted of the serial bombings in Mumbai city in 1993 in which almost 250 people were killed. As per Maharashtra government, he has freed 8 months ahead of schedule for “good behavior.”
In 2007, the actor was found guilty of illegal possession of an AK-56 rifle and a pistol and he was cleared of conspiracy charges in the serial blasts in Mumbai but he claimed that he required those guns to protect his family during a period of rioting in the Mumbai city.
Mr. Sanjay Dutta was allowed to leave jail more than once and spent over hundred days outside, raising concerns of whether he was being allowed VIP treatment. A judge of Bombay High Court asked, “How did the authorities assess that Dutta’s conduct was good? When did they get the time to make such assessment about him when he was out on parole half the time?”
The actor had surrendered in May 2013 after the SC upheld his conviction. And he was on bail during the trial. Sanjay Dutta was let out in February last year, almost 8 months early, on account of his good conduct while in Pune’s Yerwada prison.
A division bench of two justices, Mr. R Sawant and Mrs. Sadhana Jadhav was hearing public interest litigation by Pradeep Bhalekar challenging the regular paroles and furloughs granted to the actor when he was serving his sentence. The court then directed the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit stating what procedures were followed and what parameters were considered while deciding that Sanjay Dutta deserved leniency.
Justice RM Sawant asked the state government, “Was the DIG, consulted or did the jail superintendent directly send his recommendation to the governor? And also, how did the authorities assess that the actor’s conduct was good? When did the authority get the sufficient time to make such assessment regarding the behavior of the actor when he was out on parole?”
Again the court will hear the matter after 7 days. During the investigation and the trial, Sanjay Dutta spent almost 18 months in jail. On 31st July 2007, the Mumbai’s Tada court sentenced him to 6 years’ rigorous imprisonment under the Act and imposed a fine of twenty-five thousand rupees.
The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the ruling but reduced the sentence to five years in 2013, following which he surrendered to serve the remainder of his sentence. The actor Sanjay Dutta was granted parole of 3months in December 2013 during his imprisonment, and later again for one month.
