Actor Sanjay Dutt, currently lodged at Yeravada Jail after being sentenced to six years rigorous imprisonment in the 1993 serial blasts case, didn't violate prison rules by smoking, sources said on Monday.
Reacting to media reports about a Right To Information activist seeking information about whether the actor had been granted special permission to smoke in the jail premises, officials clarified that all inmates had the permission to smoke.
"All items kept in the jail canteen can be consumed freely by the inmates, cigarettes being one of them", sources added. Meanwhile, human rights activist and lawyer Aseem Sarode, who recently met Dutt to recommend a course in Gandhian philosophy for him, has objected to Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam's contention that Bollywood's support campaign for the actor amounted to contempt of court. "Nikam's statement goes against Article 19 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression," said Sarode.
Dutt, who was convicted and sentenced under the Arms Act by the Special TADA Court on July 31, underwent a routine medical check-up on Sunday. According to sources, he was doing "fine" and had breakfast in the morning.
Dutt's lawyer Satish Maneshinde, who is expected to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the TADA court verdict this week, has come to Pune to visit his client. Dutt is lodged in special security cell number 3 of the Yeravada Jail, sources said.
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