HC notice to SIC on Rajiv case convict's Dutt remission plea

The Bombay High Court has issuednotice to the Maharashtra State Information Commission on aplea filed last year by a convict in the Rajiv Gandhiassassination case seeking details of the early release ofactor Sanjay Dutt convicted in the 1993 Bombay serial bombblast case.

A division bench of Justices K K Tated and R I Chaglaon Wednesday heard the plea filed by A G Perarivalan (48), whointends to cite Dutt's case to seek early release for himself.

The court issued a notice to the State InformationCommission and posted the plea for further hearing next month.

Perarivalan had approached HC in July last year afterhe failed to get proper response from the Maharashtra prisondepartment to queries filed by him under Right to InformationAct.

The convict had sought information pertaining toDutt's early release.

Perarivalan, at the age of 19, was convicted to lifeimprisonment for having provided two 9-volt batteries whichwere used in the bomb that killed former prime minister RajivGandhi in 1991.

He is presently lodged at the Puzhal Central Prison inChennai and has spent 30 years in jail.

In his petition, Perarivalan said that in March 2016he filed an application before Yerwada prison authoritiesseeking information pertaining to Dutt's release on earlyremission, and if the Centre and state government's opinionswere taken before deciding to grant Dutt early remission.

When Perarivalan did not receive a reply from Yerwadaprison officials, he approached the Appellate Authority whichrefused to provide the information saying it related to athird person, after which he filed an appeal before the StateInformation Commission.

However, the State Information Commission passed an''insufficient and vague'' order, as per the petition, followingwhich Perarivalan approached HC.

Perarivalan has sought the HC to direct Yerwada prisonauthorities to provide him the relevant information.

''If the information sought for is provided to thepetitioner, then it will facilitate the petitioner's ownremission process. The petitioner is not concerned about theextraordinariness of the considerations, in any, in the caseof Sanjay Dutt by the jail department at each stage ofrelease/remission/parole and furlough,'' it said.

It added that the petitioner was not interested insending Dutt behind bars for the remission granted to him, ifit is found to be granted in contrary to law.

The petition said Perarivalan was only concerned withthe documents and information related to the calculations ofremission, furlough and parole so that he could use thisinformation to seek early release.

Dutt was convicted in 2006-2007 by a special courtunder the Arms Act and sentenced to six years in jail, whichwas later upheld by the Supreme Court, but the sentence wasreduced to five years.

In May 2013, Dutt surrendered, and, on February 25,2016 he was released from jail after being granted earlyremission of 256 days.