Minister for state (home) Ranjit Patil has signed the file allowing Dutt’s release, without penalising him for reporting late from his furlough in January 2015, sources in Patil’s office confirmed to dna.

The Bollywood actor, whose five-year sentence for his involvement in the 1993 blasts was confirmed by the Supreme Court in March 2013, will be freed next month.

Dutt was found guilty of illegal possession of weapons in a case linked to the 1993 serial blasts that killed 257 people in Mumbai.

The sources indicated that barring last-minute glitches, Sanjay would be released after completing the remaining 42-month period of his sentence.