Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who is currently in Pune’s Yerwada jail for the illegal possession of arms in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, had recently asked for a 14 day long furlough (which is basically a leave of absence like bail). Furlough is an annual leave granted to prisoners to meet their relatives. And now, news is that he’s been granted furlough again.
Dutt’s last furlough was a year ago and that makes him eligible for a break this year too. Prison officials said furlough was the right of every prisoner and unlike parole, no specific reason was necessary to grant the leave. An official has been quoted as saying:
The basic concept behind furlough is that while serving the sentence, the prisoner should spend some days in society.
Between the time of May 2013 to May 2014, Dutt has spent 118 days out of jail on bail for various reasons. He received a lot of flak for his frequent parole applications, and controversies also surrounded the authorities as they were questioned by the Bombay High Court in February this year about granting him as many leaves as they did just because he’s a celebrity. Home Minister R R Patil had indicated changes in the rules which would make inmates serve additional term for paroles granted. Buzz is that this time too his bail might get an extension for another two weeks.