Mumbai, Jan 6 (PTI): Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case and currently lodged in jail, will walk out a free man on February 27, with the Maharashtra government having cleared a proposal for remission of his sentence.

Dutt, 56, is being given remission in line with the jail manual after clearance from the home department, a senior official said.

Minister for State (Home) Ranjit Patil signed the file allowing Dutt's release, without penalising him for reporting late from his furlough in January 2015.

Dutt was sentenced to five years in jail after he was convicted for possessing an illegal weapon, part of the cache meant to be used during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts in which 257 people were killed.

The actor was jailed in 1996 and spent 18 months behind bars before walking out on bail.

In 2013, the Supreme Court sentenced him to five years in prison for the crime.

Dutt is now completing the remaining prison term of 42 months.

After he was sent to Pune's high-security Yerawada Central Prison in May 2013, Dutt had been out on parole twice and an equal number of times on furlough.