Sanjay Dutt's parole extension ends, to return to Yerwada Jail on Saturday

Mumbai: On Saturday, actor Sanjay Dutt (55) will have to return to Yerawada jail in Pune as his extended parole ended on Friday. This was Dutt’s second legally permissible 30-day extension, as per the prison rules. Police inspector Sanjay More from the Khar police station confirmed the development.

“Dutt was granted parole till Friday, which means he can return to jail anytime during the day on Saturday,” PI More said.

To get the parole, the actor had cited the illness of his wife Manyata (37), saying he needed to be by her side for medical care and treatment. Manyata, who was hospitalised in January 2014 for a tumour in her lung, is back home and said to be in a stable condition.

Earlier, after spending around four months in jail, Dutt had applied for and been granted furlough in October last year. He returned to the prison after completion of 30 days, but was again out on parole a month later in December 2013, and has been out ever since.

There has been much controversy over the actor’s frequent release from jail, so much so a that lawyer moved the Bombay high court with a PIL seeking uniform application of parole and furlough rules to all prisoners. In response, the high court has set up a committee to look into the rules.

Dutt is serving the remaining three years of the imprisonment awarded to him for illegal possession and destruction of an AK-56 rifle just before the March 12, 1993 blasts in Mumbai that killed over 250 people and injured hundreds of others.

The actor had moved the Supreme Court, but it upheld his conviction under the Arms Act while lowering the high court’s six-year sentence to five years. Dutt surrendered before the police last year in May. He has already served 18 months of his jail term.