DUTT RELEASED AS PER RULES: GOVT

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Monday justified its decision to grant remission of eight months to actor Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 bomb blasts case, stating in the Bombay High Court that it was done as per rules and no special treatment was given to him. Dutt was earlier sentenced to five years in jail for possession of arms, which were a part of the consignment used in the 1993 blasts.

The Maharashtra government on Monday justified to Bombay High Court its decision to grant remission of eight months to actor Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 bomb blasts case. It said no special treatment was meted out to the actor.

The government submitted a report before a Bench of Justice RM Savant and Justice Sadhana Jadhav saying Dutt was granted remission for “good behaviour, discipline & pa- rticipation in various institutional activities such as physical training, educational programmes & for performing allotted work.”

The report was submitted in response to a public interest litigation filed by Pune resident Pradeep Bhalekar questioning the regular paroles and furloughs granted to Dutt when he was serving his sentence.

Bhalekar in his petition alleged that Dutt was given undue favour by the prisons department by granting him remission.

“The Maharashtra Prisons (Remission System) Rules provides for remission of up to three days per month for good behaviour, discipline and so on. In the present matter at hand as per the Rules, the accused (Dutt) is entitled for 256 days remission which comes to eight months and 16 days,” the report said.

The report added that on October 19, 2015 an application was filed by Dutt seeking sanction for special remission which was rejected by the prisons department on December 15, 2015. However, the same was later allowed considering the accused’s “conduct and behaviour” and Dutt was released from jail on February 25, 2016.

The high court perused the report and posted the petition for further hearing after two weeks.

During the investigation and the marathon trial, Dutt spent 18 months in jail.