A.G. Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case serving a life sentence in Tamil Nadu, has sought to know the grounds for Bollywood actor >Sanjay Dutt’s premature release from prison.
In a query under the Right to Information Act sent to the Superintendent of the Yerwada prison in Pune, the convict sought a copy of the entire file relating to Dutt’s release and also details of his conduct in prison. The actor, convicted under Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, is serving a five-year sentence in Yerwada prison and is set to walk free on February 27, more than three months before the end of his term, on account of “good conduct”. The Maharashtra government had maintained that the decision to grant remission to Dutt was taken by the Jail Superintendent and the government had no role in the matter of remissions.
Referring to a report in The Hindu dated January 7, 2016, Perarivalan, presently lodged in Vellore central prison, said he wanted to know the provisions of law relating to the actor’s release. Since the information pertained to his life and liberty, he wanted it to be furnished within 48 hours. “I am a life sentencee (sic) undergoing 25th year of incarceration without any bail or parole,” he said.
Delivering its verdict on the Tamil Nadu Government’s decision to cancel the life sentences of convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the >Supreme Court had on December 2, 2015, said the State government had no suo motu power to remit sentences of persons convicted under Central law and cases investigated by the central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation.
