Dutt may be out on bail today

Actor Sanjay Dutt’s jailhouse blues are likely to end on Thursday with the Tada court issuing the warrant for his release from Pune’s Yerwada prison on Wednesday evening. Dutt’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, is likely to submit the release warrant to the jail authorities in Pune on Thursday morning to secure the actor’s release.

The Supreme Court order granting bail to Dutt, who has been sentenced to six years imprisonment under the Arms Act in the 1993 serial blasts case, was sent by e-mail and fax to the registry at the Bombay High Court. The order was then hand-delivered to the Tada court at Byculla. Dutt’s lawyers too procured a certified copy of the order on Wednesday morning from the SC and flew back to Mumbai to reach the Tada court by afternoon.

However, the formalities of executing the Rs5 lakh personal bond and two sureties took up considerable time. The Tada court staff worked overtime to type out the warrants. Film producers Punkej Kharbanda and Nitin Manmohan, who are close friends of Dutt, have stood surety.