Why was Sanjay Dutt freed early, Bombay HC asks the state govt

In a court proceeding that could spell fresh trouble for Sanjay Dutt, the Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to justify its decision to release the actor eight months before his scheduled release from jail.

The high court also asked the government to clarify as to how it had assessed that Dutt should be released early because of his “good behaviour” despite the fact that the actor was out on parole for more than six months.

The questions were posed by a Division Bench comprising Justice R.M. Savant and Justice Sadhana Jadhav while hearing a PIL filed by RTI activist Pradeep Bhalekar from Pune.

First arrested in April 1993, Dutt, was convicted and sentenced to five years in an arms possession case connected to the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case which he served in Yerawada Central Jail, Pune.

After hearing the submissions, Justice Jadhav said, “We want to know how did you assess his conduct? Also, when did you get the time to assess his conduct when half the time he was out on parole or furlough.”

“We want to know what was the process followed for his (Dutt’s) release. Was the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Prisons consulted or the Jail Superintendent directly forwarded his recommendation to the Governor?,” Justice Jadhav asked.

The bench also asked the government to spell out the criteria it follows to categorise convicts as per their conduct.

While serving his prison term, Dutt shot into headlines regularly for getting paroles — 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.