MUMBAI: Actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, will walk out a free man from Pune’s Yerwada jail on February 27 after Maharashtra government cleared a proposal for remission of his sentence by about 18 months on ground of good conduct.
Dutt will be free after completing his sentence as per the law and his jail term has been reduced by about 18 months on account of his good behaviour and work he has done behind bars, a Home department official said on Wednesday.
The Bollywood star has already spent three-and-a-half years in the high-security Yerawada jail, that includes the time he spent as an undertrial before his conviction in the Arms Act case related to the Mumbai serial blasts case.
“So far Sanjay Dutt has earned remission of about one- and-a-half years on account of his good behaviour and work he has done in the jail.
“Taking into account remissions earned by him and the three-and-a-half years of jail sentence served by him, his five-year sentence ends on February 27. Hence, he is being released as per the jail laws,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
“The jail term also includes the remission of sentence that any convict earns every month on account of good behaviour. This also includes financial remission accrued on account of the type of work a convict performs inside the jail. The remission so earned ranges from two to five days every month,” he said.
Dutt was sentenced to five-year imprisonment after he was convicted for possessing an illegal weapon, part of the cache meant to be used during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts in which 257 people were killed.
The actor was jailed in 1996 and spent 18 months behind bars before walking out on bail. In 2013, the Supreme Court upheld his conviction, awarding him five-year jail term. Dutt is now serving the remaining prison term of 42 months.(PTI)