Stage set for Dutt's release from jail

Pune, Nov 28 (IANS) The camera crews were ready and fans had begun gathering outside the Yerawada Jail here Wednesday to catch a glimpse of actor Sanjay Dutt, who was expected to be released in the evening or Thursday morning.

It all depended on when the memo by the anti-terror TADA court in Mumbai requesting his release reaches authorities at the Yerawada Jail here, where security had been tightened, lawyers said.

The orders from the Supreme Court, which had Tuesday granted Dutt and 16 others bail in the 1993 Mumbai bombings case, had already reached the TADA court in Mumbai.

To ensure that the convicts are granted bail at the earliest, the bench had directed that the orders be sent to the designated anti-terror court in Mumbai through email.

Dutt's lawyer Farahna Shah told IANS over the phone from Mumbai: 'After we present the surety at the court, the TADA court would be issuing a memo to the Yerawada Jail requesting his release.'

All these formalities are expected to be over only after lunch Wednesday. The memo needs to be physically delivered at the jail before 5.30 p.m. when the jail closes for the day. Otherwise, Dutt will spend another night in jail.

The media personnel and many fans are anxious to spot the star, who has been convicted under the Arms Act for being in the possession of weapons in the run-up to the 1993 serial blasts in which 257 people were killed.