Sanjay Dutt

Mumbai, Aug. 19: Sanjay Dutt is believed to have applied for a 10-day parole to Yerwada jail authorities but no decision has been taken on the application yet.

The 54-year-old actor, who surrendered on May 16 after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction and a five-year sentence in the Bombay serial blasts case for possessing weapons, is believed to have moved the application, but jail authorities remained tight-lipped about the development and no one was willing to officially confirm this.

When contacted, Meeran Borwankar, additional director-general of police, prisons, said: “I have no idea. You have to contact the Yerwada jail superintendent.”

Yerwada jail superintendent Yogesh Desai could not be contacted despite several attempts.

Advocates Rizwan Merchant and Farhana Shah, who have represented Dutt in the past, said they had not moved an application.

Police sources said according to the jail manual, a convict is entitled to parole after serving two years in jail, if the authorities are satisfied with his conduct. Dutt, who had served 18 months in previous stints, will be eligible after serving another six months. Of this, he has completed over three months after he surrendered in May.

The apex court had in March this year upheld Dutt’s conviction for possessing an AK-56 rifle and 9-mm pistol but reduced his sentence from six years to five years. It later rejected his curative petition, leaving him with no other option but to surrender.