Bollywood icon Sanjay Dutt has been granted four weeks before he has to return to jail to serve the rest of his prison term by India’s supreme court.
The actor was sentenced to six years jail in 2007 in a case linked to the bombings in Mumbai in 1993, for acquiring illegal weapons from men convicted for the attacks in which 257 people were killed, but has been on bail ever since.
In March, the supreme court rejected the 53-year-old actor’s final appeal against his conviction but reduced the sentence to five years and ordered him to return to prison on or before 18th April 2013.
Today the courts in India granted the actor four weeks to finish of a number of films he is currently working in.
Projects worth 2.5bn rupees (£17m) and the fate of several Bollywood films hang in the balance with Dutt heading back to jail.
“[He has] four weeks from tomorrow to surrender,” Dutt’s lawyer, Harish Salve, told Reuters in a text message.
The actor has at least four films in the pipeline, including Policegiri and a remake of the 1973 hit Zanjeer. He was also due to reprise his role in a third Munna Bhai film later this year.
He is thankful, but he is still under pressure as to how he can finish six months of work in a month,” said Rahul Aggarwal, the producer of Policegiri.
