Sanjay Dutt’s furlough row is going to become a game of political upmanship. He has been given several furloughs thus far. No other criminal can think to get this sort of mercy from over judicial system.

Many people who have been spending time on petty criminal charges are rarely given even one such furloughs in a decade or even more by our courts. But the Munna Bhai of Bollywood with obviously high political connections has been released on several occasions for even weeks to stay with his wife and kids.

Questions are being raised as the Munnabhai aka Dutt has asked an extension in his two weeks long furlough. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis while talking about it says, “I want to make it clear that the state government will only work as per the law. We neither have a celebrity-phobia nor a celebrity-mania. The DIG-Prisons has all the powers as to whether to grant furlough or not or to extend it. If the DIG’s decision is wrong, the government will intervene, otherwise no intervention is needed”.

The chief minister will have to play an important role in this extension as he holds home portfolio in the state government as well. While talking to the media about it during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Gujarat capital Gandhinagar he went on to add, “I have instructed (the authorities) to go beyond personalities when they take the decision. Extending furlough only because someone is a celebrity or someone has a particular status is wrong. The state will ensure that the law is followed”. 55-year-old Sanjay Dutt, who has been convicted for illegal possession of an AK-56 rifle and its destruction, was released on a 14-day furlough on December 24 as he wanted to be with his family during the New Year celebration.