Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt will spend one more night in Pune's Yerawada prison as his lawyers could not obtain the necessary documents in time.
Dutt's lawyer Satish Maneshinde failed to reach Pune by 5 pm after he could not obtain the documents from the designated TADA court Judge P D Kode in Mumbai.
Yerawada prison rules state that any accused who is let off on bail or set free has to submit his papers before 5 pm to the authorities. In Dutt's case, that has not happened despite the fact that the Supreme Court let him off on bail on Monday.
The news about the delay in release disappointed at least 100-odd people who had assembled to catch a glimpse of the actor.
"I have come for the second day. I thought I will be able to see him but even today no luck," said Anil Kamble, a resident near the jail.
The police had to resort to mild lathicharge often as onlookers started assembling and hooting.
Mohammad Yunus, a child who came with his father Shafiq Mohammad, too, was disheartened, "When he went to prison, I could not see him. I thought I will be able to see him now. That, too, has not happened. I only hope I can see him at least tomorrow."
It is likely now that at 7 am, Dutt's lawyer Maneshinde will reach Pune's Yerawada jail and the actor will get temporary relief till the judgment copy comes out from TADA court.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan on Monday granted interim bail to Dutt on the grounds that the TADA court had not handed over the judgment copy to him.
Dutt was sentenced to six-year imprisonment under the Arms Act by the special TADA court on July 31.
The apex court also told the actor that as soon as he gets the copy of the judgment, he will have to surrender. Dutt will also have to appear once in a week before the nearest local police station. After getting the judgment copy, Dutt can apply for regular bail.
The bail was granted to him as the apex court took into consideration that he was on bail before being sentenced to six years on July 31. Dutt was also told not to leave the country without its permission.
He was shifted from Mumbai's Arthur Road jail to Yerawada jail on August 1. He was assigned the job of cane-making in Yerawada and paid little more than Rs 12 per day, for which he earned Rs 203 till date.
