16 June,2015 06:16 PM IST | | A Correspondent
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, has applied to the divisional commissioner for a 30-day parole, according to media reports
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has reportedly applied for parole once again.
The 'Munna Bhai MBBS' star has reportedly applied to the divisional commissioner for a 30-day parole.
The office of divisional commissioner has confirmed that they have received Dutt's parole application and it was being processed.
While the reason for the furlough application is not known, there is speculation that he wants to be out for his wife Manyata's birthday, which is on July 22. The actor's birthday is on July 29.
Sanjay Dutt. Pic/Yogen Shah
When Dutt had appled for furlough earlier, he had stated that he wanted to seek medical attention for a recurring knee problem. Earlier, Dutt was released on furlough in October 2013 for two weeks on health reasons, followed by a similar leave in December 2013 to tend to his ailing wife, Maanyata, attracting charges of favouritism.
Dutt, who is serving a 42-month sentence in Yerawada Central Jail for illegal possession of arms, was the focus of a probe by Maharashtra prison authorities which had concluded that the actor flouted rules by overstaying his last furlough by two days last time around.
The report submitted by Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) Meeran Borwankar to state Home Department has also stated that there was lack of co-ordination between Mumbai Police and prison authorities after Dutt applied for 14-day extension of leave of furlough citing health reasons.
Dutt's remaining furlough days are likely to be slashed by 10 days going by the prison manual, an officer had said on condition of anonymity in February.
The 55-year-old actor is undergoing the remainder of his five-year jail term for possessing illegal firearms that was part of a cache of weapons meant to be used during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.
The actor was released from Pune's Yerwada jail in December last year on a 14-day furlough and he was supposed to return to the prison on January 8.
On December 27, he had sought a 14-day extension of his furlough citing health reasons but there was no official word on his application till the last day of his leave.
On January 8, Dutt left his Mumbai residence to surrender, only to come back following indecision by the prison authorities.
The actor surrendered on January 10 after prison authorities finally turned down his request for extension of furlough citing lack of "positive" report from the Mumbai police that resulted in the actor overstaying his leave.
Following the report, Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Ram Shinde had stated that four more days of imprisonment would be added to Dutt's prison term, as he had spent extra days out jail when his furlough period ended and a decision on extension of his furlough was pending.
Sanjay Dutt was convicted in 2007 for illegal possession of an AK-56 assault rifle during the 1992-1993 Mumbai communal conflagration before the March 12, 1993 serial bomb blasts in the city and sentenced to six years jail. The Supreme Court had upheld the conviction in 2013 but reduced the sentence to five years, less time already served. He surrendered on May 16, 2013, and was moved to the high-security jail in Pune to serve the remainder of his 42-month sentence.
