Sanjay Dutt's early release from jail could set a wrong precedent, says Ujjwal Nikam

Senior prosecuting lawyer Ujjwal Nikam on Tuesday appeared to take exception to the fact that well known actor Sanjay Dutt was allowed an early release from prison on grounds of good behaviour, saying that other convicts could also use this plea to get out of jail in the future.

Speaking a day after the Bombay High Court had asked the Maharashtra Government to give a justification for its decision to allow the film actor to leave jail early last year before he had completed his five-year prison sentence, Nikam told ANI here, "The High Court asked two questions from the government: On what basis they (government) assessed the good behavior of Sanjay Dutt. The second question was when he was on parole for more than half of the time, then why was he released earlier."

Nikam said that jail authorities in Pune had said that no concessions was granted to Dutt and he was released as per the law of the state.

"According to the Maharashtra Jail Manual, every convicted prisoner is entitled to have a parole (furlough) for 90 days," said Nikam.

He, however, said there was no uniformity to decide what is meant by "good behaviour".

"The high court may decide whether it may be a subjective satisfaction of the jail authorities for assessing good behaviour," he added.