Frequent leaves by Sanjay Dutt: HC seeks to know steps taken to modify furlough, parole rules

Mumbai, Feb 3: The Bombay High Court on Monday sought to know the steps taken by Maharashtra government for modifying parole and furlough rules and asked the government to file an affidavit.

The division bench headed by Justice V M Kanade was hearing a public interest litigation challenging frequent leaves of absence obtained by Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt who is serving a sentence in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Public Prosecutor Sandeep Shinde said a committee had been formed to review the rules. He himself was part of this committee but could not attend its last meeting, he added. He would read the minutes of the meeting and inform the court next time, Shinde said.

The petitioner Tushar Pabale today sought an inquiry into grant of repeated parole and furlough to Dutt in 2013-2014. Nikhil Choudhary, Pabale's lawyer, alleged that prison authorities had misused their power.

According to the Maharashtra Prison Manual, "a prisoner, who is sentenced to imprisonment for period exceeding one year but not exceeding five years may be released on furlough for a period of two weeks at a time for every year of actual imprisonment undergone," he pointed out.

The court directed Choudhary to put additional details on record within a week. The next hearing would be after three weeks.

PTI