Dutt home for new year, plans quiet celebration

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been granted furlough for 14 days, is planning a quiet Christmas and New Year with his family and friends, sources said.

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been granted furlough for 14 days, is planning a quiet Christmas and New Year with his family and friends, sources said.

“No big plans. Most probably we all will be with him at home. No big Christmas or New Year celebration this time,” said producer Rahul Aggrawal, who produced Dutt’s Policegiri, and is a close friend of the actor.

Dutt, serving time in the Yerwada jail, Pune, for illegal possession of arms in a 1993 blasts case, has already spent around 118 days either in parole or on furlough.

He had taken a furlough from October 1 to October 28 last year, and was granted parole in January this year, so that he could attend to his ailing wife Manyata. This had even sparked protests, with prison authorities accused of going soft on the actor.

“Furlough is a matter of right. He is entitled to come out. You have to make an application and you are entitled for 14 days subject to further renewal of 14 days,” said Hitesh Jain, Dutt’s lawyer.

The actor’s sister Namrata is his guarantor and has deposited the cash surety of Rs15,000, as demanded by prison rules.

Prison officials said the basic concept behind furlough is that while serving sentence, the prisoner should spend some days in the society.