The Bombay High Court on Tuesday slammed the Maharashtra government, the police and prison authorities for granting actor Sanjay Dutt repeated paroles.
The court also questioned the state pleader on how a convict could enjoy 118 days outside prison.
The court directed the state’s chief secretary to form a committee comprising senior officials from the home, law and judiciary departments, representatives from the jail administration and other competent officers, to look into the existing rules and procedure related to screening of parole and furlough applications.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation seeking an explanation on how Sanjay Dutt was allowed to stay out of jail bounds for nearly four out of nine months.
In the wake of the Union Home Ministry seeking an explanatory report from the state government, justices N H Patil and V L Achliya also lashed out at the Mumbai Police.
“The diligence shown by the police in the Dutt case is amazing, as such consideration is rarely seen in other cases. No wonder there is such a public outcry when the state government adopts such a casual approach when dealing with a convicted common man,” they said.
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