The Bombay High Court pulled up the Maharashtra government on Tuesday, questioning constant extensions to parole granted to actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. "Why this casual approach for ordinary citizens? You normally would not have shown such diligence in the case of a normal citizen," the division bench of Justices Naresh Patil and V L Achaliya observed.

Mr. Dutt was convicted in July 2007 under the Arms Act. Of the 307 days of imprisonment, he has been granted parole for 118 days. He was granted 30 days of furlough in October and then three months of parole. The petitioner, a lawyer from Pune filed a Public Interest Litigation alleging rampant misuse of parole provisions in favour of the actor. He said that while 600 applications were pending before the State government, Sanjay Dutt's plea was processed in a matter of days.

The government said the actor was granted parole because his wife was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. However, the court said there were many cases where people suffered from severe ailments but could not get parole because the police did not submit the report on time. "We don't say that because somebody is influential, his rights should be curtailed. Pain and suffering is common to all. But you have to exercise your discretion properly. It is high time you address this issue," the court observed. "What is the purpose of punishment if the accused is given so much parole?," the court said.

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