Weeks after he was convicted for illegally possessing guns tied to the 1993 Mumbai bombings, India's highest court has released Sanjay Dutt, a Hindi film actor, on bail, citing a technicality.
Dutt received bail because the court that convicted him had not yet provided him with a copy of his sentence, Surender Singh, his lawyer, said on Monday.
Five other people convicted in the same case were also granted bail on the same technicality by the supreme court.
All will have to return to prison once they are given copies of the sentence, Singh said.
Dutt was convicted in November and sentenced on July 31 to six years in prison by a Mumbai court for illegally possessing three automatic rifles and a pistol.
He was acquitted of more serious terrorism charges relating to the bombings.
He is currently appealing the sentence in the Supreme Court.
Unfinished films
The loss of Dutt's work on two unfinished films would have cost the film industry millions of dollars. It was unclear how Dutt's bail would affect the films' status.
Dutt's case was part of the Mumbai bombings trial, which dragged on for 12 years and saw more than 100 people convicted, 686 witnesses and 13,000 pages of testimony.
The series of bombings on March 12, 1993, killed 257 people.
A dozen people were sentenced to death, while 20 others face life sentences.
More than 50 others were sentenced to between three and 14 years in jail.